What's your purpose?

So there it was in my inbox - a new book review about a book called Purpose, the starting point of great companies.  I went on to read the quick blurb, and once I finished I knew I had to write about this topic.  Note - I have not read the book, so this post may end up being a simple recap of the book.

I suspect if you could conduct a survey within most companies and ask people what they think the key "purpose" of their business is, they'd answer "to make money".  More enlightened or aware employees might answer that the purpose of the business is to enrich shareholders and employees.  What I think many people miss is that these are OUTCOMES not purposes.

As a person who has spent a lot of time working in marketing, I see a tight alignment between purpose and marketing message and intent.  After all, when we talk to a customer via our marketing, we want to communicate who we are and what we do that is important, unique and will add value to the customer.  In those marketing statements is also embedded much of our stated or unstated purpose for the business.  Now, few marketers will ever present a marketing message to a customer that says "we exist to make money".  Marketers will usually create messages about the great benefits or value of their company's products or services, or talk about the company's understanding of the customer's needs.

But these two "messages" reflect a disconnect in the business.  If marketers and sales people talk about customer needs and product benefits, but most people within the organization think the purpose is about making money, that focus will eventually become clear to the customer.  It seems to me that many of the best companies have a corporate understanding -  a belief system that pervades how they work and what they think about the purpose of the company.  Let me provide an example or two.

I had the good fortune to work at Marriott's headquarters for quite some time as a consultant.  Marriott had excellent hotels and customer service, although I can say internally things didn't always run quite so well.  However, everyone within the organization knew the focus of the business was pleasing the guests at the hotel.  Many discussions would start and focus on what the guests' perceptions would be of the rooms, food and service.  It was clear from the top down that Marriott had a purpose to serve and please their guests - and they made good money as a result of that purpose and focus.

I also recently had the opportunity to meet the founder of Pandora, which is a customizable internet radio offering over the web.  The founders of Pandora set out to find ways to expose all the musicians and bands that don't get airplay due to the restrictive radio formats.  Their goal, a selfish one since they were also musicians, wasn't necessarily making money, although I bet they are doing OK now, but a desire to expose more listeners to a broader range of music, and help them find artists playing music that they like.  The guys at Pandora were driven by their shared purpose, and have created a community of customers who share that purpose, which is even more powerful.  The customers share that purpose and gain extra value by reinforcing the purpose.

What's the purpose of your business?  Does that focus and purpose animate the people within the business, and is that purpose their primary focus?  Having a stated purpose draws people together and creates a community, which reinforces the purpose and is demonstrated to your customers and partners on a regular basis.  Perhaps the best long term differentiator is a shared purpose.

Comments

[Robert Hruzek]

Glad to know I'm not the only one who does this! Sometimes you only need to title to know what the whole thing's about.