IMPLEMENTING ORGANIZATIONAL PURPOSE
Transform Your Business
HIGHER PURPOSE
Following V.Frankl's Footsteps
Starting and surviving in today’s economy is hard, but the organizations that figure it out have something in common: the pursuit of purpose, alongside the pursuit of profit. A purpose mobilizes people in a way that pursuing profits alone never will. For a business to thrive, it needs to infuse its purpose in all that it does.
The head-turning Gallup finding
in 2014 that the vast majority of people are disengaged in their jobs is just one statistic that highlights the fact that most workers do not like how they spend the vast majority of their lives. This should be disturbing for those who lead organizations and are responsible for their day-to-day environments.
In response to what Gallup has gathered, managers and leaders are scrambling to attract and develop talent (and keep them), change work environments to make people feel better at work, and try to understand the new, younger workforce in an increasingly interconnected world economy.
In all of the reacting, we may be missing something that is far less expensive and pretentious than in-office gyms and bring-your-dog-to-work days: the fundamental need of all human beings to search for and find meaning and purpose in life.
Leaders in organizations need to realize that the human search for meaning and purpose doesn’t just turn off when the ID card opens the door to the office in the morning.
What some have termed as “fluffy” stuff – organizational purpose and shared vision – may be the oxygen of the modern organization. And by purpose, I do not mean mission and vision statements. These statements are simply, well, statements – words on a paper that describe the purpose.
Hickman and Sorensen, in Leading Organizations stated that a common purpose in an organization “…is a deeply held sense of common destiny, a life course or calling; it is aligned with a mission but resonates profoundly with people’s values and sense of themselves.”
A higher organizational purpose is something more then than a mission – it taps into peoples’ desire for meaning and permeates every behavior and thought in the organization. It is worth committing to, an authentic calling that involves personal visions and inspires self-transcendence.
A higher organizational purpose is worth committing to.
Viktor Frankl, a concentration camp survivor, in Man’s Search for Meaning said it better than I ever could:
“…I have termed this constitutive characteristic ‘the self-transcendence of human existence.’ It denotes the fact that being human always points, and is directed, to something or someone, other than oneself–be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter. The more one forgets himself – by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love–the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself. What is called self-actualization is not an attainable aim at all, for the simple reason that the more one would strive for it, the more he would miss it. In other words, self-actualization is possible only as a side-effect of self-transcendence.”
An organization without purpose manages people and resources, while an organization with purpose mobilizes people and resources. Purpose is a key ingredient for a strong, sustainable, scalable organizational culture. It’s an unseen-yet-ever-present element that drives an organization. It can be a strategic starting point, a product differentiator, and an organic attractor of users and customers.
The actualization of the people in your organization and the organization itself, then, is only a side effect of the relentless, shared pursuit of a higher organizational purpose. (Zach Mercurio et al)
“When your business knows its higher purpose:
- You attract and retain the best employees, partners and investors
- Your employees experience their work as meaningful and fulfilling
- You make a greater impact in the world
- You create a legacy that lasts and makes the world a better place
This work is designed for your business if you:
Place a high value on innovation. You are adaptable and responsive to changes in your industry and want to be an industry leader in your niche. You understand that embracing change is critical to your growth and sustainability.
Know the old paradigms of business cannot sustain you and are scanning the horizon for inspirational ways of evolving and recreating your business.
Want to create a purposeful business, one that is organized around a higher vision that brings meaning and focus to work for your employees and stakeholders.
Sense that mission, vision and values need to be more than dry statements on your website and annual report. You are searching for practical and authentic ways to inspire your people and provide clear direction, new strength and inner satisfaction.
Want to leverage intuition and inspiration in setting your strategy. You appreciate that the best ideas often defy conventional logic and know the value of following the heart and gut as well as head, and inner wisdom as well as logic and reason.
Appreciate the need to be a sustainable company, built on delivering products and services that make a positive impact, in order to continue to attract the best employees, customers and partners.”
(Tim Kelley)
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