It’s not just what you are, but why you are
March 19, 2009 | Author: Tim Williams
Over the years, business books have been filled with admonitions to create a "mission statement" that articulates your company's reason for being. Decades later, most mission statements are still a mélange of vague hyperbole that hang unnoticed in the lobbies of companies everywhere.
What's really needed in place of the tired mission statement is to articulate you organization's sense of purpose. What is it that makes you and your associates get out of bed in the morning? Without exception, the most notable agencies have an ambitious reason for being.
The danger isn't reaching too high, but too low
Barak Obama inspired the American electorate with the "audacity of hope." Audacity is a good way to think about purpose, because a purpose is not only inspiring, but it's exceptionally ambitious. The great Michelangelo once remarked that the danger is not that we set our ambitions too high and miss them, but rather that we set our goals too low and reach them.
The natural passion of purpose
The question of purpose is answered not by describing what you are, but why you are. Next time you're on a flight surrounded by business people, one quick look around will tell you which ones are associated with an organization with a motivating purpose. While most everyone else is sleeping, playing solitaire on their computer, or solving the latest Sudoku, people who work for purpose-driven companies are usually working.
Because purpose is not about money, an agency's "purpose" cannot be to run a profitable business. As Peter Drucker said, "Profit is not the purpose of a company, but rather a test of its validity." He also believed that all people and all efforts should be focused on contribution – a meaningful end result that will make an important difference for the organization. This is especially true for knowledge workers, he says, who happen to be motivated by exactly the same things that motivate volunteers.
What drives us from inside?
Rather than being driven by external forces — the market, the competition, or the numbers — we have to pay attention to what drives us from inside. Our purpose has to be at the center of who we really are as an agency. In defining purpose, consider such questions as:
- Besides making money, why are we in business?
- What inspires us to come to work each day?
- What would we want to achieve if we knew we could not fail?
- What outrageous change would we like to make in our business or in the world?
- What is the meaning in what we do?
- What significant contribution do we make to our industry or to society?
- What kind of lasting difference do we want to make?
The agency professionals who are most enthusiastic and contribute the most to the firm are the ones who are given big goals and big jobs. The truly outstanding agencies are not just trying to make money, but in some small way change the world.
