Purpose is the New Tech with Balaji Ganapathy

Balaji Ganapathy returns to Purpose 360 as a leader with decades of experience shaping one of the world’s most purpose-driven organizations and a renewed vision for what comes next. Longtime listeners will recognize his journey from building impact at Tata Consultancy Services to scaling global social initiatives. Now, he is launching his own venture, Social Positive. But throughout his career, one throughline remains: purpose is not a side effort. It plays the same role technology once did, serving as the ultimate driver of innovation, growth, and long-term relevance.We invited Balaji to share the insights he’s gained from more than two decades of leading purpose at scale, and to unpack what it truly takes to turn intention into impact. He challenges leaders to rethink purpose as a growth engine while outlining the four critical gaps holding back progress today: from misaligned funding and execution challenges to measurement limitations and barriers to scaling proven solutions. He also introduces Social Positive’s approach, including a practitioner-led community, data-driven insights, and an AI-enabled decision tool, all designed to help leaders better align resources, strategy, and action.Listen for insights on:Why “purpose is the new tech” still holds trueCreating shared measurement across partnersLeading with a “society first” mindsetUsing AI to accelerate social impact work Resources + Links:Watch this episode on YouTube!Balaji Ganapathy’s LinkedInSocial PositiveThe CollectiveImpactScapeRika (00:00) - Welcome to Purpose 360 (00:13) - Balaji Ganapathy (02:47) - Balaji’s Backstory (05:12) - Learning from Previous Roles (08:20) - Is Purpose Still the New Tech? (10:53) - Shifting the C-Suite (13:17) - Partnership Success (16:29) - Social Positive (23:01) - AI Native Impact Consulting (28:18) - Opportunities in Asia (30:34) - Suggestions for Young People (31:37) - Speed Round (33:13) - Last Word (34:51) - Wrap Up