The kids I got to know wish to move from day laborers to business owners. Frank Sales, a 15-year old who helps run a micro-enterprise fund for his peers, told me, "We have the desire and the work effort; we just lack access to capital!"

Frank's group - which has an acronym so long and complex that its not worth noting here (note one: they need help with branding!) - helps nearly 15,000 kids get a start on creating their own venture. Over the past 18 months, it has experienced a 95% repayment on loans. In its program, children are required to pay 1% interest on principal, and put into personal savings 1% of their profits. The micro-credit agency provides workshops on writing business plans and operating a budget and charting cash flow, including putting into place a simple accounting system.

India, the rising economic lion.

That's the image that holds sway in Western corporate boardrooms at the moment. Firms lick their chops at a vast and growing market. Call centers, backroom operations and research laboratories from the USA and Europe are migrating to India in droves.

And on the surface, the numbers seem to back up the emergence of a global economic powerhouse. Over the past three years, India's GDP growth has averaged 8.1 percent annually. Over the next five years up to 70 million of its young workers will join the workforce. Sounds like an economy in full flight, right?

I hate to rain on a parade, but I have just returned from my latest jaunt to India and must report that trends can be deceiving. Yes, India is moving on the right road to economic progress. But potential should not be confused for reality.

Economists point to the fluidity of capital as a driving force in global markets. Capital respects no borders or nationalities. It flows wherever investment promises to deliver a handsome return.

Human beings, unfortunately, float - and sometimes drown - in its wake. Ever since I began writing a book on human slavery in our own time (see announcement on sidebar), I have met some of those characters. Here's one of those encounters.

Not long ago I went to London and stayed in a hotel in the city center. One evening I noticed that a member of the hotel staff who served me a cup of tea in the lobby was distraught. Her eyes betrayed a recent cry, and she was stumbling through her work. I asked after her well-being, and she answered quickly, "Life is terrible, but I can't talk about it." I let her be.

Recently I sent out to the WAG community an invitation to test a new tool that I created, the TripleP Quiz – Purpose, Passion and Profit. A remarkable number of you took the quiz and offered me valuable feedback as to your experience taking it, the significance of the results, and how the tool might best be utilized. I would like to return the favor and deliver a post-quiz debrief on your collective results.

First a bit of background on the tool. Following the publication of my last book, I went on the road for two years talking to companies about significance and purpose at work. I discovered that when workers explain what motivates them they keep coming back to three basic drivers: Purpose, Passion and Profit. So I designed a short inventory to identify how individuals lead with one of these drivers. I say “lead,” because we truly operate with a mix of motivations. But I found that nearly everyone I interviewed revealed a primary driver that shaped their experience at work. I aim not only to help workers learn more about themselves, I hope to offer the workplace a language for job engagement and the range of motivations that inspire team members.