Purpose defines our core reason for being and the positive impact we have on the world. It shapes our strategy, inspires our people, engages our customers and community, steers choices at moments of truth, and is fully embedded in our culture. Whether we are reappraising an existing purpose or designing one for the first time, we need to wrestle with challenging questions such as the ones below. These questions can help test whether we are acting with the necessary authenticity and boldness.
Purpose
- What is our purpose as a company and how does it link with our “superpower”—our capacity to make a distinctive contribution to the world?
- Who benefits from our success, and what are our responsibilities—to shareholders, yes, but also to our workforce, suppliers, ecosystem participants, communities, and the environment in which we operate?
Strategy
- When trade-offs arise, how should various stakeholder interests be balanced and reconciled? Who needs to be involved, and how will we make decisions?
- How willing are we to change our philosophy and economic model to reflect our purpose and enhance our social and environmental impact?
Culture
- What is our heritage? Why have we been successful in the past? How does this foundation enable our purpose going forward?
- How will our purpose strategy enrich and strengthen our culture and values?
- How do we make purpose personal to employees, unlocking additional engagement?
Operations
- What are the biggest externalities across our value chain (including the impact of our products’ use) that have not been considered, mitigated, or both?
- How can we align our supply-chain partners to our purpose?
- Where can we work with peers and other partners to diminish any negative societal impact caused by our sector—through, for example, collaborative circular-economy initiatives?
Marketing and sales
- How would our products and services rank in terms of social and environmental impact, compared with a ranking on profitability?
- What products and markets should be exited, and how will those decisions be made?
- How will purpose affect future decisions to invest in new product and market opportunities?
Organization
- To what extent does organizational structure and governance enable employees to make trade-offs that prioritize purpose?
- What are the most powerful levers to pull around incentives, policies, and processes to ensure purpose is lived?
- How are employees able to engage on purpose today (including specific platforms and opportunities for dialogue)?
Engagement
- How does our company talk about purpose with the board and investors?
- Who are the external stakeholders and partners who must be engaged? How and when should
- we engage them to ensure an open and authentic dialogue?
- What kind of public engagement enables us to project our purpose authentically?
Measurement
- What data and evidence are critical to measuring the total social and financial impact of our purpose, and what gaps exist today?
- What is not being measured or reported today that society will expect and hold us accountable for in the future?
Authors: Arne Gast, Bill Schaninger, Bruce Simpson, Nina Probst, Pablo Illanes
Source: Purpose: Shifting from Why to How
Subjects: Management Questions, Mission / Vision / Values, Organization Questions
Source: Purpose: Shifting from Why to How
Subjects: Management Questions, Mission / Vision / Values, Organization Questions
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