How to Implement PurposePact in Your Company
Below, you will find detailed guidance and exemplary information necessary for your company to become a PurposePact signatory.
Creating a Culture of Collective Effort
To foster a culture of collective effort within your organization—one dedicated to a shared purpose, manifesto, and values—you should provide fair and equitable salaries and ensure transparency in compensation. By doing so, you shift your teams' focus on the shared mission and values rather than individual financial rewards.
We see examples of fair and transparent compensation structures in the military, where millions of people are expected to make significant sacrifices for shared goals over centuries. In the military, the earnings for each rank—private, lieutenant, captain, general—are predetermined and publicly known. When personnel join specialized training programs, such as parachuting or bomb disposal within the Special Forces, they receive incremental salary increases with each new skill acquired. For instance, militaries pay more to specialized commandos trained in deep assault or to pilots skilled in advanced aerial maneuvers. This system encourages members to enhance their value by acquiring additional skills, signaling that specialization in areas like parachuting, bomb disposal, or helicopter piloting will be financially rewarded. However, regardless of how specialized one becomes in a specific field, one can never earn more than a general. This is because a general, besides being an expert in their own area, possesses extensive knowledge of all forces—land, air, and sea—enabling them to manage all elements within the military and determine the correct strategy. In this regard, every general is also a "T-shaped* individual."
Another key difference between a private and a general is the scope of responsibility and the volume of resources under their command. As you advance in the military, the risks you assume increase. With greater risk, seniority, and performance come greater earnings. Additionally, as you spend more time in the service, your rank increases, and you may receive medals and duty compensation for exceptional performance. Ultimately, factors like specialization, performance, seniority, risk-taking, and leadership development are encouraged.
Moreover, salaries in the military are transparent, and there are no extreme income disparities. For instance, in the Turkish military—one of the world's oldest, largest, and most powerful armies—a general earns only three times the salary of a specialized sergeant. However, in the private sector, according to salary surveys, top executives in today's S&P 500 companies earn approximately 230** times that of an average employee. If one argues that militaries also provide their generals with additional benefits like vehicles, security details, residences, and exclusive clubs, remember that corporations often allocate luxury cars, jets, and villas to their CEOs, along with millions of dollars in bonuses. No company with such extreme income disparities can genuinely focus on any social purpose.
Furthermore, regardless of rank, all salaries in the military are relatively modest compared to the private sector. An elite commando with exceptional skills—expected to be ready for combat around the clock and even sacrifice their life if necessary—earns a modest monthly salary. Similarly, highly qualified personnel in the U.S., such as Navy SEALs and CIA agents, work for relatively modest salaries compared to the private sector. The intent is to keep salaries reasonable, attracting only those who are truly dedicated to the mission. In this way, individuals focused on a shared purpose—aware of each other's earnings, with no astronomical income gaps, and receiving fair compensation—develop more cooperation than competition. Sacrifice, determination, resilience, and motivation increase.
Companies that prioritize personal gains focus on their own comfort zones, and over time they become dependent on the low-risk and safe returns of the products and services they create, and they begin to fear innovation. However, armies are extremely innovative because there is no "ultra-luxury personal comfort zone" for soldiers to lose. Instead, there is a strong common purpose such as "homeland defense". For this reason, countless major innovations such as the internet, capacitive screens, GPS, artificial intelligence systems, and lithium batteries, which play a key role in the development of human civilization, have been developed by armies.
*T-shaped Individual: An expert who has deep knowledge in one specific area and broad knowledge across multiple areas.
**Equilar 2024 Compensation Study Report
Why Use Militaries as Examples?
Corporate structures have long drawn inspiration from militaries. Hierarchical management models, document and record-keeping systems, and disciplined governance approaches all have their roots in military frameworks. However, unlike corporations, military personnel—while receiving a salary—are fundamentally driven by the sacred mission of "defending the homeland." In a well-functioning military, soldiers would still volunteer to fight for their mission even if the state were unable to compensate them. Thus, what binds a military unit is not money or titles but a profound commitment to a shared mission. Transparency in salaries, where all soldiers know what their peers earn, helps to eliminate doubts. The absence of exorbitant salaries also ensures that only those truly dedicated to the mission, regardless of their skills, choose to serve.
Today, many companies expect this level of dedication from their employees. However, few have a clear mission that inspires such dedication, nor do they employ a fair and transparent compensation model that reflects true commitment to that mission. Thus, many institutions attempt to motivate employees who lack faith in their mission through high salaries and bonuses. As a result, employees often perceive workplaces as temporary and frequently switch companies for minor benefits.
Exemplary Militaries
Below, we provide current information about the salaries and defense budgets of five of the oldest, largest, and most powerful militaries in the world. These militaries have achieved their status by building and sustaining long-term collaboration among large numbers of individuals.
Although these militaries have massive defense budgets, their compensation for soldiers remains modest because these resources are dedicated to the shared mission rather than individual indulgence. Similarly, the income of the highest-ranking officer does not exceed 15 times* the country’s minimum wage, thus earning the support and trust of the public.
* China, despite having one of the oldest, most powerful and most populous armies, was not included in the study because it does not implement a free market economy. PPACT ultimately aims to transform companies governed by capitalist dynamics. For this reason, the armies of sample countries subject to a free market economy were included in the scope of the study. Similarly, India was not included in the study because in India, the free market is being tried to be shaped due to the caste system based on religious references.
* The highest minimum wage multiple in the table appears as 10.01. However, it is estimated that this amount can increase up to 20 times in the army with additional payments such as bonuses, premiums and duty compensation.
References;
Global Military Power Rankings: https://www.globalfirepower.com, Countries' GDP Figures: https://www.imf.org , Official Establishment Dates of Active Militaries: https://www.defense.gov , https://mil.ru/index.htm , https://www.tsk.tr , Military Salary Information: https://www.statista.com , https://worldsalaries.com , https://www.bankbazaar.com, https://www.federalpay.org , https://www.salaryexplorer.com , https://www.eleman.net ,https://www.goarmy.com, Minimum Wage Data: https://www.statista.com , https://www.pwc.com.tr/, https://www.india-briefing.com , https://www.asahi.com Military Personnel Strength by Country: https://www.globalfirepower.com, Historical Military Names of Countries: https://www.worldhistory.org, https://www.massnationalguard.org/ , https://www.khanacademy.org , https://www.oupjapan.co.jp , https://www.britannica.com Military Rank Structures: https://www.militaryfactory.com , https://military-history.fandom.com , https://www.nam.ac.uk ,
Sample Compensation Declaration for Companies
Drawing inspiration from military structures, we have developed a sample compensation framework. The initial level, Assistant, is set at 50% above the current minimum wage. Each subsequent level increases by 50%, culminating in a fivefold pay difference between the Maestro and Assistant levels. When the minimum wage is adjusted, the entire compensation table updates proportionally. This approach ensures that the organization's realities remain aligned with public conditions, and all employees benefit equally from wage increases. It establishes a solid foundation for the institution to be genuinely embraced by both the public and its employees.
Sarpas Consultancy Inc. © 2022
In the model above, the company aims to value labor at a higher level by expecting employees to first transform into a "Virtuoso" through deep specialization in one area. Over time, they are also expected to acquire knowledge in various fields, evolving into a strategic "Maestro" capable of managing resources in holistic harmony. In both cases, the resources for which the employee must take responsibility increase. While an Assistant is mostly expected to follow existing systems, as one's title rises, the individual is expected to develop business processes, build new processes or models to replace old ones, and train new experts. Additionally, employees who have completed five years at the company receive a 10% seniority payment due to their long-standing contributions to the community. This supports a culture of unity, and employees who demonstrate superior performance are rewarded with reasonable bonuses. If company owners actively participate in the organization, they are compensated according to this table and do not receive additional profit shares from the company.
For example, in this framework, if we compensate a Specialist at an hourly rate of 270 TL, based on an average of 180 working hours per month (assuming a four-week month with 45 hours of work per week), the gross monthly compensation for that individual would amount to 48,600 TL. If the employee performs exceptionally well and earns a 20% bonus, their total earnings would be approximately 58,320 TL. For a family where both partners work under similar conditions, this would equate to a household income of 116,640 TL. Given that the poverty line for a family of four in Türkiye is approximately 80,000 TL gross, this income level is reasonably adequate. As the Specialist continues to expand their expertise and strengthen leadership abilities, they can eventually be promoted to higher levels—such as Expert, Virtuoso, or Maestro—thereby significantly increasing their income.
If the organization shows its employees much higher amounts as targets, the employee will focus on money rather than manifestos and values and prioritize hoarding. However, many different studies clearly show that the motivation provided by high bonuses is temporary and that employees are essentially after a goal and experience they can dedicate themselves to.
*The compensation table is an example. Your organization can create a different table according to its own needs.
PurposePact Criteria
What Should Our Manifesto Look Like?
Every Company Can Define
Its Purpose by Crafting
Its Own Manifesto.
As Bo Finneman, Senior Partner at McKinsey, notes: "Gen Z is looking beyond tangible products—they're trying to understand what drives the company. What is the mission? What is the purpose? And what is the organization striving to build for society?"
The new generation will approach your company with these questions, demanding meaningful and satisfactory answers. You need to respond with a well-structured, compelling, and purpose-driven manifesto.
Your manifesto should place a social issue at its core, explicitly articulating how your company’s products or services contribute to addressing that problem. Start by identifying systemic issues and the social problems they create, and then provide a detailed account of how your offerings serve as a solution. Here’s an example:
Sample Manifesto:
In an era where the world's resources are depleting at an alarming rate, and the global population has surged threefold since the Second World War, we are witnessing an unprecedented escalation of social issues. Migration crises, climate emergencies, pandemics, and conflicts loom large, casting a shadow of vulnerability over our rapidly spinning world.
These pressing global challenges are not distant spectacles but stark realities reflected on the screens of our mobile phones. As our exposure to these issues increases, so does the urgency for "awareness" and "sensitivity" as universal values.
We are raising our expectations of the institutions around us.
Yet, the institutions of yesteryears, whether political or bureaucratic, struggle to keep pace with our evolving needs. NGOs, hampered by reliance on donations, high turnover rates, and the inherent challenges of volunteerism, grapple to offer sustainable solutions. Meanwhile, companies treating social responsibility as a mere marketing tactic exacerbate rather than alleviate the problems.
We expect more from the institutions around us.
Throughout this period, the global deployment of the capitalist market's 'invisible hand' has proven adept at market regulation. However, this same hand bears responsibility for the climate crisis, species depletion, and the stark reality where 1% of the world's population controls 60% of its wealth.
In this post-capitalist epoch, our world yearns for a new breed of entrepreneurial heroes who can effectively tackle these social issues and usher in a new socio-economic paradigm. Our planet seeks warriors who can heal its wounds.
The warriors who dare to proclaim, "I can fight.” You, me and us...
We firmly believe that a world where individuals actively combat social issues, intertwine profit with purpose, empathize with global challenges, and embody traits such as superior performance, visionary leadership, resilience, altruism, wisdom, determination, fairness, and transparency, holds the potential for significant improvement.
We embrace the emergence of a new generation of entrepreneurship, driven by dedication and innovation.
With our comprehensive training program encompassing three stages, 30 mentors, and 20 consultants delivering 190 lessons and 101 practical applications totaling 420 hours, we are forging Venture Warriors equipped with the skills to spearhead this transformation. These are wise warriors who confront their fears, dispel negative thoughts, and navigate through stress and anxiety with unwavering determination and clarity of purpose.
We offer lifelong organized support to our graduates from the training programs. Our aim is to raise highly skilled entrepreneurs who share the same vision and speak the same language, enabling them to develop revolutionary solutions through trust-based, flexible collaboration.
If you believe you could be one of the heroes the new era is seeking, join us in establishing a post-capitalist business that wins and empowers.
Apply, graduate, and become a part of our mission.
Let's heal the world together.