
This was swiftly followed in January this year by a letter to investors from Larry Fink, founder and CEO of BlackRock, entitled “A sense of purpose,” in which he explained “Without a sense of purpose, no company, either public or private, can achieve its full potential.”He continued, “Society is demanding that companies, both public and private, serve a social purpose. To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society.” It took the market by surprise, this challenge to business leaders to step up and run more purposeful businesses. He spelt out what he meant by writing:
If there is an overall message, it is that when you can achieve a true sense of purpose in your organisation it is galvanising at all levels and provides connective tissue that drives strategic focus.But it is not for the fainthearted. It is fundamentally cultural and the challenge to match intent and reality is not to be underestimated. What we did uncover, speaking to 350 business leaders through both qualitative and quantitative routes, is that purposeful organisations share certain fundamentals that together allow purpose to take hold and embed itself in the way people think and work every day. These fundamentals are:
1. When purpose is rooted in truth, purpose takes root
The purposeful organisations we came across had invested in the development of a credible, meaningful purpose through an honest and rigorous examination of why, at its best, their organisation really mattered and to whom. For some it took them back to their roots but for all it questioned the conventions that the only thing that mattered was shareholder return and/or financial aims.2. Purpose only takes hold when leaders take hold of purpose
3. Purpose needs room to breathe
Where purpose jostles for space with a gaggle of other organisational or brand “constructs” it struggles. Competing ideas such as Vision, Mission and Ambition bring complexity and confusion. In organisations where purpose is elevated as a “north star” supported by values that guide people towards it, purpose was not just a rallying cry but at the heart of their cultural engine.4. Purpose is for every day
Where employees not only understand purpose but are empowered to use it with a sense of collective responsibility, then purpose comes to life. People in an organisation need not just to be talking about it, but sensing it in what they do and, more importantly, what they decide to do on a day to day basis. What was particularly illustrative of the power of this topic during our research is that some extraordinary organisations were happy to participate and go “on the record” with their stories, good and perhaps not-so-good, about their purpose journeys. We saw that organisations find the first two fundamentals potentially the easiest to tackle – the definition and to some extent leadership engagement. But the second two are undoubtedly where the rubber hits the road and the experience of our research participants was not all smooth sailing – there are tensions to becoming and sustaining a truly purposeful organisation. It’s for sure no longer a fashion statement – it’s a big topic that looks like it is only getting bigger – and for any organisation thinking about culture, brand and their way in the world, purpose has its place. Helen Rosethorn is a partner at Prophet and author of ‘Becoming Purposeful’ a report exploring the fundamentals of purpose-led organisations.Share this story