By now most companies in Australia are back in full swing. Ready to take on the upcoming year with gusto. Many wanting to embark on being part of a Purpose led organisation. Committing this period to aligning the strategic agenda. Building plans to execute. Whether you are in a Corporate or a Sporting Organisation, it is the time of the year where positivity reigns. If this is you, the key to momentum is to be ‘purpose ready.’

1. What if our products don’t fit our WHY?

If we sell a product or service that is inconsistent with what we believe, it will be inauthentic, and our employees and customers will eventually see and, more important, feel that.

On the other hand, to completely change a product or service because it doesn’t align with our WHY isn’t necessarily a good option either.

Sometimes it makes sense to retire a product or spin off a division that doesn’t fit. The idea is to spend energy in places that have the greatest positive impact.

2. Can a WHY be to make money?

No. We all know organisations out there whose sole reason for existing is to make money. But that is not their WHY.

“To make money” doesn’t fulfill any higher purpose. It is just a result.

Any organisation that define their WHY as a result tend not to be great places to work.

Profit driven companies may come out financially ahead of WHY driven businesses in the short term, but their success is unsustainable. Over the long term, they cannot command the kind of loyalty, trust and disruption that an organisation with a purpose can.

3. How can we convert the skeptics?

If biology is ‘fluffy,’ then consider this fluff! The WHY is at the very heart of business reality. Our decisions are driven by feelings, sometimes (although not always) backed up by logic and reason.

When the stock market falls, we often read that “the sentiment of the market” was down. What is ‘sentiment’, if not a feeling?

Shares trade on how those buying them feel about the future.

Tesla attracted over 500,000 orders for its Model 3 electric car even though it is not yet in production and the people placing the orders have never even sat in a Tesla, let alone driven one.

Growth is aligned to Purpose.

4. Does every division have to align to the one WHY?

An organisation only has one WHY. If some within the organisation feel excluded from that WHY it may be that the articulation just isn’t there yet.

Or maybe it’s time for the company to do some work developing nested WHY’s (refer to blog defining your team’s purpose).

Exploring WHY’s within WHY’s would give organizational sub groups the opportunity to refine their WHY in a way that resonates more powerfully with them

5. Can we adjust our WHY to suit our Customers?

What makes a Why powerful is its authenticity. Neither employees nor clients are fooled when an organisation attempts to manufacture a WHY to suit what they feel customers want to hear.

This is manipulation.

The people you do business with, and the people who work with you, will sense a disconnect. Trust and loyalty will diminish (if they ever existed).

When that happens, the company often resorts to discounts and other forms of manipulation to try to convince customers and employees to stay.

This may work in the short term but it has no hope in the long term.

One of my thoughts (delusions!!) over the New Year break was to pen a fictitious story. So to bring Purpose to life, next week I will attempt to tell the tale of a historically good company (maybe a beer business) who loses their way and is saved by Purpose. Be kind!