In his recent essay “Marketing Needs 6Ps for Strategic Marketing”, Philip Kotler invites marketers to move beyond the classic 4Ps of tactical marketing—Product, Price, Place, and Promotion—and to embrace a new framework designed for the age of strategic, responsible, and human-centered marketing.
His six Ps — Purpose, People, Partners, Peace, Planet, and Prosperity — form a bridge between the discipline of marketing and the broader mission of management in the 21st century: to serve humanity, not merely markets.
While this expanded framework offers a holistic view, it is essential to recognize that three of these six Ps—Purpose, People, and Planet—constitute the very core of the Enlightened Management philosophy that Kotler and Gabriele Carboni have explored and formalized in their book Enlightened Management. These are not simply elements among others; they are the necessary conditions for all the others to exist. Without them, neither partnerships, peace, nor prosperity can be sustained.
1. Purpose: The Moral and Strategic Center
Every meaningful organization begins with a why. As Kotler reminds us, “Purpose answers why we exist beyond profit.” In Enlightened Management, Kotler and Carboni take this notion further: purpose is the ethical and strategic DNA of the enterprise.
It aligns decisions, inspires people, and integrates social and environmental goals into the logic of business performance. Purpose is not an abstract ideal—it is the generative force that transforms profit-seeking into prosperity creation.
When purpose is authentic and lived, it becomes a gravitational center that attracts both talent and trust. Without purpose, the remaining Ps lose direction: partnerships become transactional, peace becomes fragile, and prosperity becomes temporary.
2. People: The Human Multiplier of Impact
If purpose defines the why, people represent the how. No marketing strategy or management philosophy can thrive without the active engagement of those who bring it to life.
In Enlightened Management, Kotler and Carboni view people not merely as employees or consumers, but as co-creators of value — the living interface between organizational purpose and social impact.
Empowered individuals create organizations capable of empathy, innovation, and long-term resilience. When people are ignored, even the noblest mission collapses under the weight of indifference.
An enlightened leader therefore acts not as a controller, but as a catalyst—facilitating shared leadership, trust, and meaning across all levels of the organization.
3. Planet: The Boundary and the Promise
The third foundational pillar, the planet, defines the ultimate constraint and opportunity for every enterprise. No organization operates in isolation; every product, service, and supply chain depends on the ecological systems that sustain life.
Yet for decades, management models treated these systems as externalities — invisible, infinite, and irrelevant. Enlightened Management restores them to the center of decision-making.
To ignore the planet is to compromise both peace and prosperity. True innovation must therefore be regenerative: designing for circularity, reducing waste, and aligning economic growth with ecological balance.
A healthy planet is not only a moral duty but a strategic advantage: it ensures the continuity of resources, markets, and human wellbeing — the very conditions of prosperity.
The P³ Formula: Multiplying Impact Toward Prosperity
In Enlightened Management, Kotler and Carboni express this interdependence through a simple yet powerful formula:
People × Purpose × Planet = Prosperity
This is not a metaphor—it is a model.
Each “P” multiplies the strength of the others. If one factor is missing, the equation collapses. An organization cannot achieve genuine prosperity by focusing on people without purpose, or by having purpose without caring for the planet.
Prosperity, in this sense, is not merely financial success. It is the shared and sustainable flourishing of all stakeholders — employees, communities, and the environment. It is the synthesis of human dignity, meaningful direction, and ecological respect.
Why the Other Ps Depend on These Three
Kotler’s additional Ps — Partners, Peace, and Prosperity — are natural extensions of the first three.
- Partnerships arise only when purpose is clear, people are engaged, and respect for the planet guides collaboration.
- Peace, both within and outside the organization, emerges from alignment between personal values and collective purpose, and from responsible coexistence with our environment.
- Prosperity, finally, is the cumulative result — not an input, but an outcome of the other five Ps.
Thus, without Purpose, People, and Planet, the entire 6P model loses coherence. They are the structural foundation upon which enlightened leadership, sustainable marketing, and ethical capitalism must be built.
The Enlightened Path Forward
We are entering an era where strategic marketing becomes strategic humanity. The discipline can no longer be confined to persuasion or profit optimization. It must instead serve as the cultural and intellectual engine that aligns economic activity with human and planetary wellbeing.
Enlightened Management offers both a philosophy and a practical framework for this transition. It reminds us that leadership today is not about managing products or processes, but relationships — with people, purpose, and the planet.
The future of marketing, as Kotler has long taught, lies not in selling more, but in serving better. And that future begins only when the foundational three Ps are understood not as an option, but as an obligation.