I was recently talking with Tim O’Brien (CEO of Purpose Made) who has such insight, expertise and experience on purpose-driven strategy and the impact it can have. Tim has founded and run a number of companies, each with a very clear purpose linked to a strong focus on impact measurement. Tim was also one of the early adopters in the Australian B Corp movement.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, our conversation soon moved to the topic of ‘purpose’.
As I wrote in this blog a few years ago, when Malcolm and I established Global Leadership Foundation back in 2003, we were never asked what our new business stood for or what its purpose was. If we did share how we intended to contribute to the greater good, most people didn’t understand. ‘That’s all very well, but what do you do?’ they would say.
Back then, purpose wasn’t something many private companies thought about – at least not beyond the point of remaining financially viable. The idea they might have a role to play beyond providing a return to their owners or shareholders was associated more with the not-for-profit sector than the for-profit sector at that time.
In the intervening couple of decades, things have changed substantially. As the ever-growing number of certified B Corps attest to, more and more businesses see profit as secondary to the broad purpose of improving the lives of their staff, clients and customers, building community and saving and improving the environment. It is increasingly being recognised that being ‘best for the world’ and being profitable are not mutually exclusive aims.
Unfortunately, this growing recognition of the need for organisations to have a purpose does have a downside. As Tim and I were discussing, there is a feeling of ‘here we go again’ as purpose reaches a tipping point and becomes the ‘next thing to do’. As we’ve seen before with things like mission statements, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, purpose has become, in some organisations, a ‘tick the box’ exercise rather than an authentic effort to change and truly have a positive social and environmental impact.
As Malcolm Lazenby wrote in a recent blog post, true ‘purpose’ comes from the body centre. When we are connected to this centre, we set direction through ‘doing’, with an emphasis on making it happen. In other words, purpose is much more than another statement to hang on the wall. Purpose is what you get up in the morning for. It’s all about what you do, not what you say.
In an article entitled ‘The Purposeful Path’, Tim points out that finding and pursuing a purpose is something that can be done in an existing workplace. ‘Small transformations can change an entire business for good’ It starts with a desire to do something different, starting small and building momentum. It starts with a desire to have an impact.
Any organisation, large or small, can do this. However, purpose must come from a place of authenticity, from a real desire to define why their organisation exists, what impact you want to have and how you will go about establishing the behaviours, systems and symbols to truly achieve this.
Be wary of the temptation to adopt a purpose just because the trend suggests you should. It is not something you can tick off the to-do list. It’s not something you do but something you live.
Gayle
