An emotionally stimulating purpose statement is a compelling driver to boost positive employee performance. Articulating a clear business purpose creates a strong advantage to compete in the transforming economic landscape, with tangible bottom line benefits. The organizational purpose is a business’s core reason for being and it communicates the benefit it provides those it serves. For both the clients and the employees, a clear business purpose should communicate a shared goal of improving people’s lives.
When the purpose statement clearly answers the question of “why do we exist,” then you, as the leader, can create vision and mission statements that are more strategically focused. What we mean by this, is that once you craft a clear business purpose, you can bolster that purpose with a vision statement that describes where the business is going, and a mission statement that explains how your business will provide products or services for your customers.
Obviously, there is a difference between your organizational purpose and your mission or strategy. The purpose provides ongoing inspiration for employees, even when times get tough. It can be tweaked with changing times, but it always serves as a guiding North Star. Often, leaders get focused on what their business delivers and how it delivers. Yet, by having a well-crafted emotionally stimulating purpose is what sets you apart from your competitors.
Harvard Business Review Analytic Services conducted a survey, The Business Case for Purpose, sponsored by the EY Beacon Institute in 2015. The results of the study indicate that “companies perform better if they have a clear sense of purpose. Purpose-driven companies make more money, have more engaged employees, more loyal customers, and are better at innovation and transformational change.”
There is a risk for a company that articulates a clear business purpose but fails to integrate it into all its operations. This will likely cause a disconnect between what team members expect from the company and the company’s reality. Intentions are not reality.
Guided by purpose, all involved in the organization can accomplish much more than a series of daily tasks. The organizational purpose provides these benefits so that everyone can work towards the same outcomes:
- Define how the organization contributes to society
- Define how all tasks are important contributors to this purpose.
- Energize and motivate the workforce.
Are you willing to commit to embed an organizational purpose into the strategic planning and decision-making processes in your business? Think about why your business was started and how it would be successful. What was the inspiration during the start-up? How do you see the business improving the lives of others? Consider using GET THINGS DONE THAT MATTER for your employee L & D initiatives. Maybe it’s time to revisit and create a clear business purpose that is aligned with today’s societal needs. Then create the clear path quarter by quarter for your employees to follow.
.