Why Every CEO Should Pursue a “Purpose Beyond Profit”

It’s textbook management practice to formalize a company’s “mission, vision, and values.”

And while these are important steps in helping form a direction and way of being for a company, many CEOs are nonetheless challenged with a litany of business issues:

• Unengaged employees
• An inability to attract the new talent needed
• Customer defection
• Lack of marketplace differentiation
• Dissatisfied shareholders

This list goes on and on, doesn’t it?

Behind each of these business challenges is a big question: How can my business matter more to people?

When your business truly matters to people, they are far more likely to do what you need them to do.

They work with enthusiasm. They line up to join your organization. They become loyal advocates of your company. They put you at the head of the competitive field. They invest in your future.

How do you get your business to matter to people?

Modern businesses identify a “Purpose Beyond Profit”.

They step back and look at what they’ve been doing with fresh eyes.

They distill all the good that is buried under the layers, the data, and the anxiety.

They think about what people are really connecting to these days: companies that are doing good things, making work worthwhile, shaping a better future, and being a good citizen.

They then create a purpose that bridges what the company does well, and what people want from the company.

Operating on a higher, more emotional level than the obvious and the required business goal of making a profit, a Purpose Beyond Profit lifts spirits, engages minds, and touches hearts.

Easier said than done.

The biggest challenge for a CEO and team is to get the necessary perspective needed to sift through their complex business situation, and to arrive at the “truths” about the company that will fuel a meaningful, impactful, and hard-working Purpose Beyond Profit.

Which is why we have developed a method of helping companies reveal the hidden meaning of what they do, and to bring that to the surface through a compelling purpose beyond profit.

We also help activate workplaces and marketplaces around a company’s Purpose Beyond Profit – with the goal of changing the way people see, think about, and act on behalf of the company.

CEOs who want their companies to be stronger today, and better fit for the future, will define – and heartily embrace- a Purpose Beyond Profit.