What is Purpose?

All leaders, not just top CEOs, face difficult strategic decisions throughout their careers. The single factor that helps them make these decisions correctly is an understanding of what their organization is really trying to do: its Purpose. That's because the Purpose of the organization - the shared recognition of the reason why it exists - is the context that determines whether a decision is the right one to make at any particular time.

Purpose does not mean making money. It does not even mean producing goods or services, satisfying shareholders or paying taxes and contributing to society. Those are all the things that an organization must do in order to fulfill its Purpose. The Purpose is a moral conviction: a rationale that explains why a particular group of talented people - leaders and employees - should spend their valuable time working together in this particular organization doing these particular things. For example: Are we here to discover new inventions? To increase people's happiness? To create beauty and quality? To control the direction of our industry? Or for some other reason?

When a Purpose appeals to the moral conviction of employees, then they are capable of acting with conviction and self-determination, without being micromanaged. When the strategy of a company is aligned with its Purpose, then its moves will make sense, whether in the short or long term. When companies operate over time with a clear and well-aligned Purpose, then they become great and influential.

Keys to developing a purpose

Get buy-in

You can't dictate the purpose to staffers. They have to believe it. Get employees involved by gauging their moral ideas and what's important to them.

Locate your niche

You don't have to operate in a world-saving field to develop a purpose that people can embrace. Link the work — no matter how simple it seems — to improving lives of customers or employees, says Rob Galford, managing partner at the Center for Leading Organizations, a Boston-based consulting firm. Even Procter & Gamble can say its toilet paper has a larger purpose. “Soft toilet paper makes people's lives literally more comfortable,” Galford said.

Put it into action

Whole Foods Market aims to find the best natural and organic foods, support sustainable farming and pave the way to nurture the body, community and planet. An analyst recently asked Chief Executive John Mackey if the company would cut the quality of some products to reduce prices during the economy's slump. “We are a mission-driven company and we think our business model is very successful,” Mackey said. “I don't think we're going to lower our quality.”

Personalise it

Put up pictures of people using your products. “That gives people a linkage to purpose,” Galford said. “It's critically important, in times of crisis, to have something deeply embedded as a value so you know it's about the customer.”

Show the impact

Demonstrate that 7,000 people use the product each day, and the value of what employees do hits home. “It's not just Mrs. Jones ripping open the package,” Galford said. “It's tying together the qualitative and the quantitative.”

Further details

For details please contact:

Peter Kronborg, Executive Chairman.
Ph 61 3 9661 8000 pkronborg@oppeus.com www.oppeus.com

Nicholas Varigos, Managing Director.
Ph 61 3 9661 8000 nvarigos@oppeus.com www.oppeus.com