As you move into 2017, ask yourself four questions as a leader and a human being. 

What new this year do I want to learn? Have fun brainstorming - just write down five ideas and pick one or two where you can focus. 

eading a company with a strong sense of mission and purpose is not new. Yet I am always encouraged when I see clear signs that organizations are keeping purpose front and center with the work they do and the way they build their strategic plans. My recent piece on Patagonia highlights just one great example of purpose in action. 

But there are many more. CEOs were busy talking about, and driving, purpose in 2016. As I look back on the year, here are a few moments that stood out to me (I’m including links to the story behind each).

“Patagonia, the high-end outdoor apparel and gear retailer, generated a “record-breaking” $10 million in Black Friday sales––five times the amount it had initially projected––and has announced it will donate every cent of those profits to nonprofits focused on protecting and saving the environment.”*

Think about what you just read! The company announced in advance of Black Friday that it would be donating all of their profits from the most profitable day of the year to environmental causes.