WHY PURPOSE > PROFITS

Let’s talk about something that’s often overlooked and undervalued amidst the daily chaos of running a business: purpose.

Now, you might be thinking, “Can we skip to the part where we talk about profits?” And we get it—after a year that’s felt longer than the Star Wars saga, reflecting on your corporate purpose might seem as appetizing as Jabba the Hutt. Yet here’s why ensuring your purpose and people are aligned is more critical than ever…

WHY PURPOSE MATTERS MOST:

There’s Immense Power in Shared Goals. Imagine a soccer team without clear goal posts to aim toward. Any attempt at teamwork and progress would quickly devolve into pandemonium. In a corporate world full of differing and ever-shifting opinions, personalities, and politics, establishing common ground through an over-arching, immovable common purpose sets everybody up for greater success. A powerful purpose can be the glue that brings together a diverse group of people, turning potential chaos into collective focus and formidable strength.

Ruthless Clarity Guards Against Costly Detours. A clear purpose acts like your North Star, helping teams stay on course while making it easier for leaders to spot distractions and draining pursuits that don’t align with their ultimate destination. Perhaps Steve Jobs said it best: “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.”

A Big, Bold Purpose Makes Us All Better. Lest you think that ‘simply’ creating a profitable business, or adding puff pastries to the office canteen, provides enough purpose to keep everyone aligned, think again. A business without a bold, meaningful purpose runs the risk of dysfunction. Without a worthy goal that everyone can get behind, trust crumbles, blame games flourish, and individual egos begin to overshadow teamwork. A big, bold purpose lifts everyone’s sights higher.

It’s Your Values Made Visible. In our experience, an organisation’s purpose and its values go hand in hand. Our purpose unpacks “why we do what we do,” while our values inform “how we go about doing this.”

HOW TO WORK ON PURPOSE:

• Weave It In, Often. Don’t get lost in the weeds; regularly remind everyone why you do what you do. Intentionally weave it into the ordinary day to day. Here’s a challenge: the next time you call a meeting, think about how you can connect whatever it is you’ll be discussing to your core values and overarching purpose as a company. Don’t belabour the point, just show how what you’re all doing really matters in the long run. When we do this, adding meaning to the seemingly mundane, magic happens.
• Spotlight People on Purpose. Amid the busy chaos, carve out times and places to celebrate team members who embody your values and work with real purpose. For us, this culture didn’t happen overnight but it’s now blossoming organically, perhaps thanks to leaders who modeled it first.
• Go Big! Of course your business needs to be profitable, but that shouldn’t be your highest goal as a company. Give people something bigger and more worthy to spend their lives working towards. Start by thinking about what real value your business adds to the world, and then dream about what else it could do if/when it multiplies ten-fold.
• Balance Competing Priorities. We try to always hold three competing priorities in mind: What’s good for the individual? What’s good for our clients? What’s good for our company? While finding balance is crucial, there will be times when one of these requires the lion’s share of our time and energy. In those instances, when we need to band together and burn the midnight oil for example, we try to keep in mind that these intense patches never last, and when they leave, they leave us better, stronger, and wiser too.

FIVE Q'S TO FIND YOUR COLLECTIVE PURPOSE:

1. What core values define our organisation?
2. What impact do we want to have on our customers, community and world?
3. What challenges are we passionate about solving?
4. How do we want customers to feel when interacting with us?
5. What unique strengths set us apart?

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

• A purpose-filled company isn’t created overnight, after a particularly caffeinated strat session. It’s created and kept alive by every employee who feels purpose-filled themselves. To this end, here’s how we’ve sought to level up our playing field.
• In this early TedTalk, titled “The Puzzle of Motivation”, Dan Pink explores what science knows about motivation and how the world of business tends to get it wrong, assuming carrots and sticks drive progress, when all the while, deeper desires drive us forward.
• If you’ve got this far, and you’re still interested in what we’ve been up to of late, check out our brand spanking new brochure!

Remember, determining your purpose isn’t just a tick-box exercise—it’s the compass that keeps your ship on course. So before you sign off for the year, take a moment to reflect and let clarity lead the way into an even brighter 2025.

Until next time!

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