Is your company purpose driven?
A self-assessment for business leaders
These days both customers and employees have every opportunity to spend their money and their time with other companies. More and more, the element that drives loyalty from both groups is a company’s purpose. Check out The Value Of Purpose for the hard numbers. Suffice it to say, purpose is going to be a major factor for business success in the 2020s – think manufacturing robotics in the 1970s or social media in the 2010s.
But, be careful because purpose is a double edged sword. Companies that fake it can be seen as disingenuous, insincere and downright dishonest. When a company’s purpose is just a platitude customers and employees alike become resentful. In this era of woke-ness the public radar for corporate BS is finely tuned and being the target of cancel culture’s ire can be crippling for a business. The only way to make purpose work is to work your purpose. Don’t just paint some pretty words on the breakroom wall, walk your damned talk. Operationalize your purpose.
Below is the self-assessment we provide our clients so that they can quickly gauge how true they are to their purported purpose. We typically ask 3 to 5 of the top execs to complete the assessment. If they don’t average more than 75% on a given item we build out a game plan to address it.
In your dreams————————On a good day————————Nailed it
- Our company serves a clear visionary purpose with present-day relevance
- Our employees keenly understand how their work serves that purpose
- Our leaders understand the economic benefits of being purpose driven
- Any member of our staff can stand in front of a mic and explain our purpose
- Our customers see their patronage as a means to participate in and support our purpose
- We measure performance in terms of our purpose
- We have a purpose-driven culture that inspires and motivates our employees
- Our incentives are tied to achieving relative to our purpose
- Our innovation efforts are guided by our purpose
