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 break room 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.
0% — 10% — 20% — 30% — 40% — 50% — 60% — 70% — 80% — 90% — 100%
In your dreams On a good day Nailed it
Is your company purpose driven? What other statements would you add?
If you need help in transitioning to a purpose driven culture get in touch with us.