Finding purpose through pain

Introducing Renovata: combining strategic communications with social purpose

“Through her pain, she found purpose,” he said, mid-way through his first State of The Union address to Congress earlier this month and ‘doing’ empathy like only Joe Biden can. He was referring to the widow of a US soldier who lost his life to cancer, likely caused by breathing in toxic smoke from “burn pits” whilst stationed near Baghdad.?

Biden conveys compassion better than any contemporary politician because he is authentic and genuine, having faced personal tragedy of the hardest kind. It doesn't matter whether we support his politics or not. His personal narrative of how he has endured and overcome heart-breaking loss, the example he sets and the empathy he demonstrates toward others is what makes him so compelling. Biden offers us value – he is a memoir which will help the reader if we turn his pages.

Biden’s “purpose through pain” remark is a theme he has touched on before; it is at the core of his personal narrative. It resonates with me, following a long battle I continue to endure, fighting to have a relationship with my child. Like Biden, I refuse to be overwhelmed by my anguish or the obstacles put in front of me. Instead, I choose to fight on and to devote my efforts to helping other fathers unjustly excluded from their children's lives. I choose purpose.

“Consumers see through corporations jumping on the latest bandwagon”

This experience led me to found Renovata, a new strategic communications and social purpose consultancy. At the core of Renovata’s offering, which is quite distinct from the standard PR agency, is to work with others to help find and cultivate their own purpose.

To cut it in today’s world, brands and senior leaders need to be associated with a cause. The question to ask ourselves is this: if my business disappeared tomorrow, would anyone notice? Would anyone care? The answer from our customers and stakeholders is more likely to be “yes” if our values align with theirs.

But the association needs to be genuine and credible. Consumers see straight through corporations jumping on the latest bandwagon – just as they won't trust a politician who isn't authentic.

So instead of looking at a cause and figuring out how our messages can fit into it, we need to work the other way around. What are our organisation’s values? What’s in our DNA? By understanding this, we can form an authentic voice and develop a clear sense of purpose which is shared with others. Our stakeholders will then care about us, engage with us, and want to stay connected to us.

Click here to learn more about how we can help you identify your values, develop purpose and deliver impact