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Perspective 8
Where is the Money in a Purpose-Led AI World?
Customers now choose based on who you are, not just what you sell.
Whenever we talk about building a different kind of business - one built on kindness, purpose and contribution - someone always asks: "Yes, but where’s the money?"
It’s a good question. We’ve been trained for years to believe that business equals selling, that value equals margin and that success equals revenue. And for a long time, that’s exactly how most businesses operated.
But as AI reshapes business, the old money story is starting to break apart — not because there’s no money left, but because value is shifting into very different places.
You see, for most of business history, companies made money by finding gaps and inefficiencies in the system. Retailers bought goods cheaply in one place and sold them for more somewhere else. Manufacturers produced at lower cost, sold at a premium, and kept the difference. Service businesses charged fees based on expertise, access, or speed. Value was created because markets weren’t perfect and people couldn’t easily compare prices or options. You could make money because you knew something, sourced something, or could do something others couldn’t.
But AI is rapidly closing those gaps. Pricing data is now instantly available worldwide. Product options can be compared at the click of a button. Complex processes can be replicated in seconds. The advantage no longer sits with "who can do it cheaper or faster" because AI can do most of that better than any of us.
So where does that leave us? It leaves us exactly where we always should have been, building businesses that serve us and care for all of us. This doesn’t mean businesses stop selling products, services, or physical goods.
Far from it. But how we create value and why people buy is changing completely.
In retail, value no longer comes from simply offering the lowest price or even the most exclusive product. It comes from trust, from thoughtful curation, and from alignment with a deeper mission to create real impact. More and more people buy not just because of what a retailer sells, but because of what the brand and its people stand for. The staff, the service, the story and the connections, all reflect something bigger than the product itself. These retailers embody values, ethics, community and a commitment to building a kinder, fairer world. Retailers aren’t simply shifting stock anymore. They’re building spaces where shared values live.
In manufacturing, value no longer comes just from reducing costs. It comes from how products are made - their sustainability, their quality, their fairness, and their purpose. Customers ask different questions now: Who made this? How was it sourced? What values sit behind it? Manufacturers who care, and who openly show that care, build customer loyalty that pricing alone can never buy. And when you look at everyone involved, from workers across the world to staff inside the business to customers around the globe, you realise you are not just running a supply chain, you are building an incredible global community. The question isn’t, "Where can we squeeze a bit more profit?" It’s, "What impact can we have together? What good can this amazing community create?"
In service businesses, value no longer comes from having exclusive knowledge, because AI now puts much of that information instantly into everyone’s hands. Instead, value flows from trust, empathy, collaboration and real partnership with clients. It’s no longer about "what you know," but about how you walk with your clients, how you support their growth, and how you create genuine progress together. Each client relationship is no longer just a transaction. It becomes a shared journey of your business community, held with care and love, and carried forward by a collective desire to make a real difference.
So yes, people still buy products. They still pay for services. They still choose suppliers. But now, many people choose differently. They choose based on who you are, not just what you sell.
They choose businesses that reflect a bigger mission. They choose businesses where they feel part of the work. They choose businesses where they feel seen, heard and valued. They choose business that are in fact communities of purpose.
This is why money in a purpose-led AI world flows differently. It flows through relationships. It flows through alignment. It flows through shared mission. The financial transaction still happens but it happens after the relationship is already built.
In the old model, you found customers and then tried to create a relationship. In the Work It Out Way, you build relationships, and the customers emerge from that. And as AI continues to flatten the old systems, this shift will only accelerate. We are moving from market competition to community contribution, from chasing margin to building meaning and from selling to serving.
And in the process, money still flows but now it flows through contribution, through trust and through relationships that grow businesses, not by extracting more, but by building more.
So where is the money? It’s right where it’s always been. It’s in the hands of those who serve others well. But increasingly, it flows through relationships, not through systems. We shouldn’t miss out on the huge opportunity that AI offers in helping us to build real relationships that drive and support our collective purpose.
Whenever we talk about building a different kind of business - one built on kindness, purpose and contribution - someone always asks: "Yes, but where’s the money?"
It’s a good question. We’ve been trained for years to believe that business equals selling, that value equals margin and that success equals revenue. And for a long time, that’s exactly how most businesses operated.
But as AI reshapes business, the old money story is starting to break apart — not because there’s no money left, but because value is shifting into very different places.
You see, for most of business history, companies made money by finding gaps and inefficiencies in the system. Retailers bought goods cheaply in one place and sold them for more somewhere else. Manufacturers produced at lower cost, sold at a premium, and kept the difference. Service businesses charged fees based on expertise, access, or speed. Value was created because markets weren’t perfect and people couldn’t easily compare prices or options. You could make money because you knew something, sourced something, or could do something others couldn’t.
But AI is rapidly closing those gaps. Pricing data is now instantly available worldwide. Product options can be compared at the click of a button. Complex processes can be replicated in seconds. The advantage no longer sits with "who can do it cheaper or faster" because AI can do most of that better than any of us.
So where does that leave us? It leaves us exactly where we always should have been, building businesses that serve us and care for all of us. This doesn’t mean businesses stop selling products, services, or physical goods.
Far from it. But how we create value and why people buy is changing completely.
In retail, value no longer comes from simply offering the lowest price or even the most exclusive product. It comes from trust, from thoughtful curation, and from alignment with a deeper mission to create real impact. More and more people buy not just because of what a retailer sells, but because of what the brand and its people stand for. The staff, the service, the story and the connections, all reflect something bigger than the product itself. These retailers embody values, ethics, community and a commitment to building a kinder, fairer world. Retailers aren’t simply shifting stock anymore. They’re building spaces where shared values live.
In manufacturing, value no longer comes just from reducing costs. It comes from how products are made - their sustainability, their quality, their fairness, and their purpose. Customers ask different questions now: Who made this? How was it sourced? What values sit behind it? Manufacturers who care, and who openly show that care, build customer loyalty that pricing alone can never buy. And when you look at everyone involved, from workers across the world to staff inside the business to customers around the globe, you realise you are not just running a supply chain, you are building an incredible global community. The question isn’t, "Where can we squeeze a bit more profit?" It’s, "What impact can we have together? What good can this amazing community create?"
In service businesses, value no longer comes from having exclusive knowledge, because AI now puts much of that information instantly into everyone’s hands. Instead, value flows from trust, empathy, collaboration and real partnership with clients. It’s no longer about "what you know," but about how you walk with your clients, how you support their growth, and how you create genuine progress together. Each client relationship is no longer just a transaction. It becomes a shared journey of your business community, held with care and love, and carried forward by a collective desire to make a real difference.
So yes, people still buy products. They still pay for services. They still choose suppliers. But now, many people choose differently. They choose based on who you are, not just what you sell.
They choose businesses that reflect a bigger mission. They choose businesses where they feel part of the work. They choose businesses where they feel seen, heard and valued. They choose business that are in fact communities of purpose.
This is why money in a purpose-led AI world flows differently. It flows through relationships. It flows through alignment. It flows through shared mission. The financial transaction still happens but it happens after the relationship is already built.
In the old model, you found customers and then tried to create a relationship. In the Work It Out Way, you build relationships, and the customers emerge from that. And as AI continues to flatten the old systems, this shift will only accelerate. We are moving from market competition to community contribution, from chasing margin to building meaning and from selling to serving.
And in the process, money still flows but now it flows through contribution, through trust and through relationships that grow businesses, not by extracting more, but by building more.
So where is the money? It’s right where it’s always been. It’s in the hands of those who serve others well. But increasingly, it flows through relationships, not through systems. We shouldn’t miss out on the huge opportunity that AI offers in helping us to build real relationships that drive and support our collective purpose.
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Copyright © Diversiton 2003-2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Copyright © Diversiton 2003-2025 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.