Creating a sense of belonging is not only possible, it is critical. My research indicates that there are five key ingredients necessary for a business to scale. A sense of belonging or purpose is one of them.

A lot of research supported the fact that that salary has little impact on developing a sense of belong. As long as people are receiving what they deem to be "fair," adding additional salary or bonus-based incentives have little effect on engagement.

The key, I believe, is purpose. If you can create a compelling purpose that your employees want to believe in and if you authentically live for that purpose from the CEO and board level all the way down, you will create the "soft power" or "moral force" that enables great organizations to succeed.