What’s the purpose of this?
Although it seems like a huge task, remember your business’ purpose is already there and just needs to be brought to life and articulated clearly. Here’s Gerald Edelman’s Rukayyah Robun with her top tips – and a case study to warm the heart.
In 2023, business is more than just business. From transparency over impact on the environment, to clarity over diversity, inclusion, and equity policies, all the way to how they make employees feel – businesses have never been held to higher standards by stakeholders. Today, although still important, it is less about the product or service, and more about the heart and soul of the business. Questions like “who are we?”, “what do we value?” and “what do we stand for?” are all questions that the C suite should now be asking.
For many, this can seem a daunting task, and some will ask the question “why now?”. Pre-pandemic, The 2020 Zeno Strength of Purpose study was conducted and highlighted consumers were four times more likely to purchase from a purpose led company, six times more likely to protect the company under scrutiny, and four times more likely to trust them. Furthermore, The Harvard Business Review shared its study on purpose and concluded that businesses with a clearly defined one outperform those that don’t.
But exactly how can you find your purpose?
How to find your purpose
Remember that your purpose is already there and just needs to be brought to life and articulated clearly. For Gerald Edelman, we started with our mission for: Our People, Our Clients, Our Planet and Our Community. We then built on our vision; to build a better every day. Through these exercises, looking at our past strategy and current goals, one thing stood out to us, positivity. As a result, our purpose statement became “We strive for every interaction to be a positive one”.
A great place to start when thinking of your company’s purpose is, your ‘Why’. Simon Sinek, best-selling author and international speaker, built an entire strategy for businesses on the importance of having your ‘Why’ at the centre of your organization. His framework, the golden circle, has three stages:
- The ‘Why’ – This is where you consider your purpose, your mission and your beliefs.
- The ‘How’ – Then move on to thinking about how this is seen in your strategy, processes and point of difference.
- The ‘What’ – Finally, you look at your products, services and tactics and how these carry through.
For established companies this can be a big task. It requires careful consideration and a deep understanding of where the business has been and where it would like to go. To gain further insight into your company culture, feedback surveys and focus groups are also integral to understand what your team value, ensuring this is reflected in your purpose statement.
Another thing to consider when deciding on your purpose statement is how actionable it is? Can you integrate it into your every day? Is it something your team can be advocates for without thinking about it? This is where words should meet action.
“From transparency over a business’s impact on the environment, to clarity over diversity, inclusion, and equity policies, all the way to how they make employees feel – businesses have never been held to higher standards by their stakeholders. Today, although still important, it is less about the product or service, and more about the heart and soul of the business.”
Make it count
It’s crucial your business not only talks about your commitment to wider issues, but that you act on them too. If you already have a set mission, vision, and purpose, how can you be continuously acting on those statements? At Gerald Edelman, our four pillars mentioned above, were already guiding everything we did as a firm. For example:
Our Planet - In recent years, we’ve taken our commitment to the planet to the next level. We have undergone a carbon impact review through third party Green Element, and now we are working towards our B-Corp accreditation.
Our Community - We partner with charity London Youth to support disadvantaged young people. Through fundraising, donations, and employability days, we aim to make a positive difference and support the charity in their work.
These are both examples of the role of feedback to our wider Purpose of making every interaction positive, but it’s also a representation of our vision in building a better every day.
Southwest Airlines case study
An example, that inspired us, of how having a purpose can empower your employees to make decisions that are authentic to your business can be found with Southwest Airlines.
In 2011, Mark Dickinson received the news his two-year-old grandson was in hospital and doctors had done all they could. The family had made the devastating decision to pull the plug on Caden’s life support when Mark was in Los Angeles on a business trip. Mark’s employer quickly made the travel arrangements for a Southwest Airlines flight from LAX. However, the long security lines meant Mark was running the risk of missing his flight.
After finally making it to the gate, he realized he was 12 minutes late and thought he’d missed his chance to say goodbye.
Seeing him in a panic, the airline staff asked if he was Mark Dickinson, when he said yes, they replied “we’re holding the plane for you”. The pilot was standing by the jetway and comforted Mark, saying “They can't go anywhere without me - and I wasn't going anywhere without you. Now relax. We'll get you there.” In a matter of hours, Mark was at his grandson’s side and ready to say goodbye, all because of one pilot’s act of kindness.
This story is an example of how business is not just business. Your people should embody the values that you stand by to fulfill your purpose as much as any business model or transaction.
Closing thoughts
It’s important to remember finding your purpose isn’t an overnight decision. It requires auditing your company and culture, research into your industry/sector and careful consideration from your leadership team.
It’s crucial you decide on a mandate or statement that can be integrated into your business seamlessly and remembered by your teams. Internal marketing can provide the extra layer of communication needed when implementing your purpose to ensure it isn’t forgotten or left on the sidelines. Consider your regular points of communication with the team such as a newsletter or bulletin board, at their desks or even in a daily stand up - starting with how each team member met the purpose the previous day.
Making your purpose and your strategy work for you and your team is the easiest way to ensure its success.
To learn more about Gerald Edelman and our Purpose, see our recent article - https://www.geraldedelman.com/insights/why-every-business-needs-a-purpose/