Yes, it’s true that those of us in the business of corporate social responsibility and Purpose could use a little of her magical art of tidying when it comes to saying good-bye to the ‘make a difference’ programs, initiatives, galas or philanthropic events that are neither effective for delivering long term, measurable and systemic change, nor do they spark much joy. 

 In fact, the CSR and Purpose segment is the ideal place for the Japanese guru and Netflix star to work her Shinto-inspired approach to thanking, then tossing aside the old cause-marketing, philanthropic, win/win, or Buy1:Give1 ideas that once served us, but no longer do. 

Imagine Marie Kondo in the boardroom, asking us to throw our presentations, decks and calendars full of fundraising events, conferences, fun runs, TED talks and tourism junkets for _____cause, into the middle of the room, then demurely asking, ‘do these spark joy’? 

The simplicity of a tidying exercise like this gets to the heart of the real purpose – who do we serve; what are we trying to improve; and do our efforts actually have impact?

It turns out, that those of us who work in CSR and Purpose and those who participate in meaningful social change work know that genuine purpose stands for something. It focuses on long term results and reaches beyond the product, the gala, the quick fix or the press release. It lasts. 

Real purpose work carries down to every worker, every benefit, policy, supplier and community member. Purpose is about the whole eco-system of that company and the way it makes people’s lives genuinely better. This is the kind of social good that impacts deeply, and sparks joy widely. 

As meaningful connections are increasingly forged between companies, non-profits and government agencies to solve the big challenges of our day, the KonMari method could be the tool that enables leadership to say ‘no’ to the shallow, and to embrace those opportunities that are bigger than their individual institutions. 

 That’s the kind of life-changing magic we could all embrace.