A conversation about Purpose
Have you developed a vision and mission? Next step is to develop the purpose of your organization. What do we mean by purpose? Is it different from vision and mission?
Purpose is at the beating heart of a company and provides a broader and more sustainable view of the organization and the role the organization plays in society.
The definition of Purpose is:
“A concrete goal that benefits our society as a whole. One that goes beyond just a financial objective but also benefits the greater good. "
Why do we see that more and more companies are working on their purpose? I believe that there is a momentum gaining in our society. We are realizing that the way we are managing our companies is no longer the best way for the next 20 or 30 years.
Our focus on "me" and "right now" is becoming increasingly problematic. We can often only solve our challenges by working together, but our companies are often not set up that way.
My experience with our clients in having a conversation about purpose has two sides, a quantitative and a qualitative one.
The quantitative
A discussion with the executive team about purpose becomes more convincing the moment they also see statistically how working according to purpose has a positive effect on their revenues and profitability. More and more evidence has become available for this.
There is hard evidence about the impact on attracting and retaining the best talent from the market, this simply works much better with a purpose that inspires your people. This is especially important for the young generations. I believe that people make a bigger difference for a company than machines or capital, which makes this argument even stronger.
The qualitative
It is important to have a good conversation with the leadership team about purpose-driven strategy using the momentum that already exists in our society. At the core of our organizations are people with families who play an important role in communities, and work for organizations that are at the center of society. Organizations need a commitment to build different capabilities that support society as a whole and succeed commercially and ethically.
Hopefully this inspires.
Paul Donkers
Do you want to talk to one of my colleagues or talk to me about unlocking purpose in your organization? Drop us an email via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Curious about the way in which we have unlocked our purpose? Click here.
We have quantitative resources available and we share them on request.
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