Gerry Anderson, the CEO of DTE Energy, and Robert Quinn and Anjan Thakor, professors at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and the Olin Business School at Washington University, respectively, discuss how an aspirational mission can motivate employees and improve performance. GERRY ANDERSON: I mean it’s a simple thing, but if you want a company to be excellent you have to draw people’s discretionary energy, their extra energy. And that drew people’s energy because people wanted to help the people around them.