2: Putting Purpose at the Core

Jan 2022

Last week, while attending my company’s leadership conference, I had a reflecting moment of purpose, impact, and the power of the same.

One of my colleagues shared how her job to drive the adoption of electronic banking connected to saving people’s lives from situations like cash-in-transit heists and ATM bombings that were happening where she is from. Her purpose was to unleash the power of technology to solve for eliminating cash out of the system.

I have also spent a good number of years in Digital Banking and Payments space doing exciting innovations especially in the payments space and my purpose had been to provide a transformative experience and greater convenience to customers using the power of technology in the part of the world where I was driving this change.

While the passion and power of tech we used maybe the same, but the impacts we were driving and potentially the strategies we have used could have been different. Key is having a purpose and knowing the impact, and keeping that at the core.

With that kind of reflecting moment, I thought of sharing my thoughts and what I have learned on putting Purpose at the core of everything from one of my old reads.

In that article I read about a global study of high growth in companies they did, investigating the importance of strategies known to drive the growth like creating new markets and network effects, serving broader stakeholder needs, and changing the rules of the game etc.,

Although each of those approaches did boost the growth at the organizations they studied, there was a fourth hidden driver they began to recognize, those companies moved purpose from the periphery of their strategy to its core—where, with committed leadership and financial investment, they had used it to generate sustained profitable growth, stay relevant in a rapidly changing world, and deepen ties with their stakeholders.

Putting purpose played two critical roles for those companies:

1.????It helped them to redefine the playing field. High-growth companies don’t feel limited to their current playing field. Instead, they think about whole ecosystems, where connected interests and relationships among multiple stakeholders create more opportunities. But these companies don’t approach ecosystems haphazardly. They let purpose be their guide.

2.????It allowed them to reshape the value proposition. A purpose-driven approach facilitates growth in new ecosystems, it allows companies to broaden their mission, create a holistic value proposition, and deliver lifetime benefits to customers. Companies can make this shift in three main ways: by responding to trends, building on trust, and focusing on pain points.

In a nutshell, developing a purpose reshapes the reason for being. It requires one to look forward, lets you take stock of the broader ecosystem in which you want to work, and assess your potential for impact in it. The idea is to make sense of the future and then start gearing your organization for it. The focus needs to be external, and leaders must ask a different set of questions: Where can we go? Which trends affect our business? What new needs, opportunities, and challenges lie ahead? What role can we play that will open future opportunities for ourselves that we believe in?

Besides all the above, having purpose at the core of everything you do:

·?????Fuels the passion and work of an individual, leader or an organization

·?????Provide clarity to see the two sides of the coin - Win/Learn

·?????Adds to resiliency and fosters innovation more naturally

·?????Motivates stakeholders, customers and investors

·?????Let’s you to be even more customer obsessed

So, what is there to lose? Put the purpose at the core of everything you do and drive the magical impact through your passion and work!! Hope you are part of a mission or an organization that is purpose driven, and is putting the purpose at the core of everything.

Sincerely,

Anu