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Alise CortezGusto, NOW!
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Alise Cortez
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About

Hi, I’m Dr. Alise Cortez.

Founder and Chief Ignition Officer at Gusto, NOW!, a management consulting firm specializing in the activation of meaning and purpose. Inspirational speaker, organizational logotherapist, social scientist, author, and host of the Working on Purpose podcast.

Twenty-five years in human capital and organizational excellence, focused on helping companies, leaders and individuals across the globe live with gusto — and make the most of their one, precious life.

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Portrait of Dr. Alise Cortez, organizational logotherapist and author.
Organizational Logotherapy

Building on Viktor Frankl’s central discovery.

Logotherapy holds that the search for life purpose is our chief concern — and our primary source of energy. Applied to organizations, it means creating the culture and conditions for people to experience vitalizing meaning at work, not just talk about values in the abstract.

Why it is operational, not aspirational

Purpose-driven companies grow roughly three times faster than competitors, with stronger retention and satisfaction — meaning is a performance variable, not a mood.

The distinction that changes leadership

Motivation pushes people toward an action. Inspiration pulls them toward a future they want to help create. Most organizations only know how to do the first.

Research & intellectual property

Frameworks built on field research, not on adjectives.

Four working models sit underneath every keynote, engagement and episode — together with the Gusto Framework, which describes how passion, inspiration, meaning and purpose combine into the well-being that shows up as performance.

15 Modes of Engagement

How people experience work and how it relates to their sense of identity — derived from Dr. Cortez’s field research, from demoralizing to invigorating.

Organizational Logotherapy

Building on Viktor Frankl’s work: creating the conditions for people to experience vitalizing meaning at work.

Meaning + Purpose

The core operating thesis — meaning is the energy performance runs on. Motivation pushes; inspiration pulls.

Destination Workplaces

What makes a culture magnetize the people it needs, and keep them contributing at full capacity.

Writing

The work, at book length.

Four authored or co-authored books and one curated anthology — the long-form version of the ideas behind the keynotes, plus the personal ones behind those.

Cover of The Great Revitalization by Alise Cortez, PhD.

The Great Revitalization

How activating meaning and purpose can radically enliven your business.

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Cover of Purpose Ignited by Alise Cortez, PhD.

Purpose Ignited

How Inspiring Leaders Unleash Passion and Elevate Cause.

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Cover of The Power of Soulful Healing by Dr. Arthur P. Ciaramicoli and Dr. Alise Cortez.

The Power of Soulful Healing

Turning Wounds into Wisdom. Co-authored with Dr. Arthur P. Ciaramicoli — the newest of the collection.

Cover of Passionately Striving in Why, curated by Alise Cortez, PhD.

Passionately Striving in “Why”

An Anthology of Women Who Persevere Mightily to Live Their Purpose — a triumphant collection of contributions from 25 women from around the world, Australia to Zambia. Curated by Alise Cortez, PhD.

Cover of Coloring Life by Alise Cortez, PhD.

Coloring Life

How Loss Invites Us to Live More Vibrant Lives, with a foreword by Dr. Arthur Ciaramicoli. Death is a great teacher: losing the ones we love the most can inspire us to treasure our relationships, expand our consciousness and live more fully.

Working on Purpose

A decade of conversation, live every Tuesday.

Since February 2015, Dr. Cortez has hosted Working on Purpose — live Tuesdays at 5pm CST across 28 audio platforms — exploring destination workplaces, inspirational leadership and purpose-driven business with guests like Stephen M.R. Covey, Bob Chapman, Raj Sisodia, Bill George and Marcus Buckingham.

Listen to the show
Beyond the boardroom

Retreats for individuals hungry for more.

Dr. Cortez facilitates a global community and in-person retreats — Finding Your North Star and Empower Her — for people ready to build a more purposeful life.

See the retreats

Let’s talk about your organization.

Speaking, consulting or the free Organizational Best Practices Assessment — one conversation is usually enough to know where to start.

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