You've heard the saying that "the inmates run the asylum", right? Have you ever thought about what makes that such a profound statement? It refers to the loss of control that happens when people (inmates in this example) act on their own behalf, regardless of their authority. The result is chaos.

The same thing happens in a business environment when employees start to act on their own behalf. The "best interest" of the individual is not necessarily the best interest of the company. The result... chaos. Unless the purpose and goals of the business are tied directly to personal benefits, goals and purpose for the individual. We'll discuss more on that connection later. However, let us first discuss the overall purpose or mission of employees within the company.

Just like an individual's purpose it not defined by themselves (it is defined by their Creator), the employee's purpose if defined by the employer (the creator of the job). During an informal poll, I asked people to define the purpose of employees within the company. I'll also dig deeper into each one of these later, but here is the list of some of the things that I found.

Remember that some of these are not direct actions that employees must take, but they represent the mindsets and attitudes that should drive all employees within an organization. Here are the five main purposes that I believe defines an employee's role regardless of their specific job description:

1. Honor the Company- Every employee should have a certain level of respect for the company that employs them.
   
2. Build Community- Or "Foster Teamwork". Employees should work well with other people in order to accomplish goals together. This is about the relationships needed for great work environments.
   
3. Personal Development- Often people are hired not only for what they already can do, but also for the potential that they have. Every employee is expected to grow into something more than what they currently are.
   
4. Support Internal Customers- All employees have some sort of internal customers that need something from them, and efficient service here is an important part of making the whole "machine" work.
   
5. Product Evangelism- Even if the employee is not in a "sales" position, every employee should represent the company and the product well as if they were in a sales role.

While there are other roles and specific job functions, all employers would be very happy to get an employee that excels in each of these areas. Everything else is just details of their specific role. This is where the company starts (or should be starting) when building stronger, better employees.