Episode #145
Is Your Work Worth It? Rethinking Purpose, Profit & the Work We Choose to Do
What makes work truly meaningful—and how can businesses and nonprofits build organizations around purpose rather than profit alone? In this episode of Homegrown Hustle, host Matt Eickman sits down with Christopher Wong Michaelson, academic, business advisor, and co-author of Is Your Work Worth It?, and Emily Hunt Turner, founder of All Square, for a deep conversation about purpose, principled leadership, social entrepreneurship, ethical hiring, and the responsibility businesses have to their communities. Christopher shares how his journey from philosophy and management consulting to academia led him to study meaningful work, while Emily explains how her background in architecture and law ultimately led to building All Square, a nonprofit social enterprise supporting people impacted by incarceration. Together, they challenge conventional ideas about hiring, organizational culture, nonprofit revenue, and what it means to build a business that creates lasting social impact. KEY TAKEAWAYS: Meaningful work requires more than earning a paycheck—it requires understanding the purpose behind what we do. Businesses can create greater impact when they view themselves as part of a broader community ecosystem rather than simply transactional organizations. Social entrepreneurship can combine business discipline with solutions to human problems. Emily's work with All Square demonstrates how a nonprofit can use earned revenue and entrepreneurship to advance its mission. Principled leadership means connecting organizational decisions to meaningful moral principles. Employers should look beyond rigid résumé filters and consider the individual, their growth, abilities, and story. Criminal records should not automatically eliminate candidates when the record is unrelated to the responsibilities of the position. AI and automation can make hiring more efficient, but organizations must ensure technology does not reinforce narrow or biased decision-making. Strong organizations need both empathy and structure: caring, boundaries, policies, and responsible HR practices must work together. Nonprofits should not be afraid of monetization; sustainable revenue can provide the power necessary to expand mission-driven impact. Hustle and ambition become most valuable when they are directed toward worthwhile goals and values that make the world better. CHAPTERS: 00:00 – Welcome to Homegrown Hustle & Guest Introductions 01:07 – Christopher and Emily's Journeys 03:21 – What Is Social Entrepreneurship? 04:32 – The Search for Purpose in Business 05:28 – Christopher's Life-Changing Work Experience 08:22 – From Management Consulting to Academia 09:11 – Principled Leadership & Emily's Recognition 11:47 – The Origins of All Square 15:27 – Reentry, Employment & the Opportunity to Grow 19:17 – Rethinking the Hiring Pool 25:32 – Résumés, Liberal Arts & Human Potential 27:35 – Ethical Automation & Hiring Decisions 29:16 – Designing Business Around Justice and Purpose 34:36 – The Challenge of Caring While Running a Business 36:09 – Ethics, HR & Putting Principles Into Practice 38:03 – Functional Purpose vs. Moral Purpose 40:18 – Why Nonprofits Need to Embrace Monetization 42:42 – What Does “Hustle” Really Mean? 44:11 – Ambition, Hustle & the Right Things to Pursue 45:49 – Final Thoughts & Closing GUEST RESOURCES: Christopher Wong Michaelson: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopher-wong-michaelson-41b85611/ Emily Hunt Turner: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-hunt-turner-eht/
