In the height of the Space Race, President Kennedy visited NASA and asked an off-duty janitor what he did. The janitor famously replied, “I’m helping to put a man on the moon.”

PURPOSE

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Leadership

That’s the power of purpose.

Know your why

The purpose check

First: do you have a purpose?

If you’re still crafting your purpose, decide if it’s going to:

be outward-oriented (focusing on your bigger impact to customers and society) be inward-oriented (focusing on business ambition) focus on the things your organization will do focus on who you are as an organization

Bear in mind that outward-oriented purpose statements are generally the most common. There’s also some research that says organizations with purpose statements that go beyond maximizing profit perform best. As you craft your purpose, consider your values and culture too—making sure all three are in sync. People should never have to choose between fulfilling your purpose or living your values. To that point, it’s important that management spends time reflecting on how day to day projects connect to your purpose and help fulfill it.

it starts with you

Leadership

the space to thrive

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with everyone using purpose as their starting point, there are fewer misunderstandings, it’s also easier to debate and incorporate opposing views—generating solutions together.

Create a common language:

Establish a standard of excellence:

a clear purpose gives teams something to measure themselves against. This also saves time and resources as everyone knows what’s expected of them and teams make decisions faster, with less conflict and more collective effort.

being part of something bigger makes people feel happier and in more control of their own lives. Individuals who have meaning and purpose in their work get more out of it personally. When they see other colleagues feeling the same way, purpose boosts camaraderie, too.

Give work more meaning:

when your teams get behind a common goal, you’ll unlock their discretionary energy, or that desire to go above and beyond to see the company get ahead.

Galvanize your teams:

without a purpose, it’s easy for people to get caught up in the crises of the day and lose sight of where they’re heading. But a clear and compelling purpose helps teams stay focused on the long game—making them more hopeful, optimistic and resilient and setting them up to reach their full potential.

Having a strong purpose can also:

could also increase your EBITDA by as much as

purpose-driven’

very

‘

purpose-driven’

moderately

‘

Moving the degree of purposefulness in your organization from

Generate perseverance:

Organizations that tap into discretionary energy see an

increase in their average return on assets over three years.

8.1%

And can they explain:

understand what’s expected of them? agree with it? have the support, training and chance to do what you’re asking of them? find meaning in their work? see the connection between their roles and your organization’s mission?

To find out if people are clear on your purpose, and how it relates to them, ask whether they:

Second: are your people living and breathing your purpose every day?

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your vision and mission without looking it up? how management plans to reach these goals?

Answer ‘yes’ to every question to fuel discretionary energy in your teams – helping them realize their full potential.

Getting more mileage from your people

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Leadership

CULTURE

Leadership

1. The Business of Business is Purpose

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