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In all likelihood, your company’s purpose is not saving Dolphins, Desert Tortoises, Narwhal Whales, or the Monkey Puzzle Tree, unless your company is in the business of oceans, deserts, or forests. I think that this desire for companies to be more noble, to elevate purpose to a heavenly heights, was a result of the damage companies do. An antidote to the brutality of capitalism. I get it.
Reality check. Your company’s purpose is to provide a core emotional identity that will cause growth, make money and serve the hell out of your customers. If a new generation of employees ask, “But what are you doing to make the world a better place,’ you tell them the world you are immediately concerned with is your own, and the world of your customer. All your energies, sales, marketing, and products, go into promising to make their lives better, and by doing so, yours. Not brutal. Practical.
If they say, “But I want to work at a company involved in the greater good!” you tell them, “Well, since we make software that enables furniture manufacturers to source wood, we are passionately trying to save the Monkey Puzzle Tree.” Bravo.
Hopefully by then, they understand. Purpose is purpose. Cause is cause. And your cause, should you decide to have one (and you should), should be related to the industry you’re in, so there is a whiff of authenticity to it. So that if the thing you’re supporting fails, your company, your industry, might suffer. If you apply a philosophy that lies somewhere between Milton Friedman’s and Mother Theresa’s, you’ll find the right cause for your organization and the right focus on promoting it.
The past couple of years, The Fundamental Group has noticed that some well-meaning folk hijacked the true meaning of purpose, then plugged that meaning into the agendas of HR departments to convince them how important it was that the company focus on “Making the world a better place” as the be-all and end-all activity.
But purpose, as succinctly as I can state it, is the hot spot, the X spot, the mother lode, where what you do meets what your customer’s desperately need to do well, do better, accomplish more or just plain keep their jobs so they can enjoy hanging holiday knick-knacks from the branches of their Monkey Puzzle Trees.
And happier, employed people can go a long way to making the world a better place.
We’ll offer ideas on how you can sharpen your message to resonate with prospects and energize your team.
We help brands discover what REALLY matters.