So what does it mean to have “purpose?”
It means you define your company’s reason for being as something beyond just bringing dollars in. There is a reason that your company exists and that reason usually means helping to make lives better. That can be helping to solve life’s big problems or life’s little problems. It can mean innovating, educating, or advocating. It means you are creating, improving, promoting, or expanding what people get to do, or be, or have. You work to open doors or open eyes or, hopefully, both.
Having purpose changes your company for the better. Not just because of the impact your company has by doing what it is supposed to do. It changes how your employees feel about their efforts. It changes how your audience, whether they are customers or likeminded individuals or prospective members and beneficiaries, feels about being associated with you. The ripple effect of purpose touches everything.
A company that puts purpose first earns employees who think more about their job than their paycheck. Your employees will bring more innovation to you; they will look for ways to help you do what you do better, faster, with fewer errors, because they believe that is what you, as leaders, want. Why? Because purpose matters to you. You show it by what you do, what you say, and how you talk about your company.
Purpose makes people respect your company. They respect your decision-making skills. They believe you are more financially astute. They also believe that you are more attuned to the future, to new technologies, and to what is in the best interests of your employees, compared to companies who tout the bottom line as the top priority.
Corporate purpose goes beyond the literal definition . . . it reflects a positive light back on your company in every way that you care about.
So what can we at TeamWorks Media do to help you? We can:
• Help you find and define a purpose
• Help you articulate and promote your purpose
• Help you expand the reach and effectiveness of your purpose, improving the impact of your purpose and your bottom line
Purpose improves perception, performance, and profit. There is no downside.
We at TeamWorks are declaring 2015, “The Year of Purpose.” We will be posting throughout the year on our blog/vlog to help you learn and grow with us.
So please join us in 2015 by making this your year of purpose, too. Follow us as we explore all the ways that purpose matters.