“If you are what you ought to be, you will set fire to all Italy, and not only yonder” (St. Catherine of Siena).

Post-pandemic, many people, particularly young people, are asking, “What can I do to help build a better world?” There is a strong desire to turn inward purpose into outward mission and drive positive change both locally and globally. We are looking to have an impact and searching for the spaces that are tackling society’s greatest challenges.

But our current silos, where you either “do good” or you “make money,” are not working. In their new book Venture Meets Mission, Arun Gupta, Gerard George, and Thomas J. Fewer offer a path in which entrepreneurs and government work together as partners, not as opponents. Their goal is to shatter our current misconceptions and create a new way forward with diverse perspectives, unique experiences, and innovating thinking.

Defining Ourselves and Finding Our Shared Values 

Before we can create a new mindset, we first must have a solid understanding of the differences between entrepreneurs and government as well as their shared values. According to Gupta, George, and Fewer, we can apply the concept of entrepreneurship to all aspects of our lives by demonstrating “integrity, humility, courage, optimism, adaptiveness, resilience, and empathy.” Entrepreneurs must embrace innovative and creative thinking, challenge the status quo, and try again after failing.

Government, on the other hand, “provide(s) the parameters for everyday behavior for citizens, protecting them from outside interference, and often providing for their well-being and happiness.” Government’s role is to protect the public and pursue in “no-fail” missions. Specifically, write Gupta, George, and Fewer, the United States government is a major venture investor worldwide and has played a role in all major innovations in the past century.

Our current and future problems cannot be solved by entrepreneurs and governments acting alone; they must come together to form a “we mindset” by combining the “scale and goals of the government with the power of free enterprise and the talent and passion in civil society.” This collaboration requires understanding each other’s differences, learning their “why,” and focusing on the vision and mission at hand. Both entrepreneurs and the government must learn to put aside their own agenda to come together to work toward the common good.

The “Venture Meets Mission” Ecosystem 

“Venture Meets Mission” is the meeting place of idealism, action, people, purpose, and profit. This new ecosystem calls for a public and private partnership that “fosters the sense of purpose and meaning” without the negativity of our traditional conceptions of capitalism and government. According to Gupta, George, and Fewer, the government is an enabler of this ecosystem in building trust, creating mission, investing in people, mobilizing capital, and showing value.

Perhaps the most critical factor in the “Venture Meets Mission” ecosystem is the investment of people in developing their skills. A common misconception is that working in the public sector is choosing to do good work for low pay without gaining skills and experiences that will transfer into the private sector—or that working in the public sector is a checklist on the resume that will help a professional compete in the private sector. Even more disheartening is the belief that working in the public sector is honorable but not nearly as impressive as a job in the private sector.

However, the public sector, whether government or nonprofit, can be a building block for any career. Employees can develop three specific skills within the public sector that can cross over to the private sector: “the art of persuasion, complex decision-making, and crisis management.” Working for the public sector, even just temporarily, is a work experience that provides opportunities for growth, development, and seeing mission in action that professionals can bring into the private sector.

Similarly, the Catholic Church can and should be talking about working for the Church both as “doing good work” and developing skills and practical experiences. We need holy people who love the faith working for the Church, just as we need holy people in the public and secular sector evangelizing their workplace by living the faith in small and ordinary moments.

Intersectional Career Paths 

It is becoming increasingly clear that this generation and the generations to follow will have career paths that are intentional and nonlinear. The people who will thrive in an uncertain and changing world will be the ones who embrace diverse perspectives and experiences while being mission-driven. In working for purpose and profit, we can make our careers like the famous Catholic “both/and” paradox; we can look for the intersection of building a career with meaning while making a comfortable living.

Unlike previous generations, the millennial and Gen Z generations will have multiple job experiences to build and draw upon. The previous straight line of a career is changing to be more diagonal, composed of learning different skills and applying that knowledge to new situations and experiences. The professional diversity of our career paths will call us to look for new ways to help our local and global communities.

Within the history of the Catholic Church, a generation of saints rise up to face the challenges of their time and live out the universal call to holiness in their own unique calling. The next generation of saints will use the tools of their day to evangelize the people around them.

Closing Thoughts

Venture Meets Mission is a response to a post-pandemic world that faces complex societal challenges and where uncertainty is the new normal. The old siloing of entrepreneurship and government cannot continue; we need a new path forward that encourages service, innovation, creativity, humility, and trust.

Entrepreneurship and government alone cannot be the only voices in creating our world, though; we need the voice of truth, goodness, and peace that is found through the Catholic Church. We need the voices of faithful, ordinary, Catholics. God created us for a purpose: to be holy, to glorify Him. Our mission is to evangelize right here and now, to speak the truth that Christ is our King, our Savior, and our God, to go out to all the nations.

We do not need a college education or impressive fellowship or internship experiences to be evangelists. God will equip us with all we need. All we need is to trust in Him and surrender ourselves to Him. Let us be the next generation of saints who live out who God has called us to be and set the world on fire.

Alexandra (Alex) Harrel resides in Irving, Texas. She is a new student affairs professional within the world of higher education. In her spare time, she loves reading, listening to podcasts, and spending time outdoors. Her favorite prayer is Hail, Holy Queen. You can follow her on Instagram at @2012alexandra.