Exceptional businesses sustain bottom-line results, which they invest to create meaningful, positive impact for their stakeholders.

As a young boy growing up in Rohtak, India, I had no idea what my life's work would be. But my parents instilled in me something that I have never forgotten: that work must have a sense of purpose beyond mere financial gain; that to be meaningful, work should make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others.

Technology is advancing at breakneck speed, upending old ways of doing business and resetting the social contract between employers and employees.

If corporations are to remain a legitimate instrument of collective action, they must concern themselves directly with the well-being of those party to, and affected by, their actions.

It is no longer enough to have a good product. A company's purpose and the way it treats its employees and the global community to which it belongs is also of great importance.

Fresh out of grad school, I arrived for my first day of work at Deloitte ready for the long haul. For my generation, that's what those early years were about - laying the foundation for a lifelong career with a great organization. More than 30 years later, I'm still with Deloitte, and I have no regrets.