A friend of mine called me a few days ago and wanted to talk about his new venture. I am happy for him. No question that it is a big decision in some ways for him. The question came up was “why”, is it about money or is it about creating something. What is the strategy?
I asked him about his "purpose". He was a little surprised as he expected me to ask him about the strategy. I said to him “purpose” is bigger than “strategy”. Much bigger. At best, strategy is just a number of smart decisions or tactics or some clever ways to play with the economics of the value chain. But purpose is different, it is a journey. Strategies are about means; they cannot be an end in themselves. An end is a reason. Many companies today are not lacking strategies, they lack a reason--they lack “purpose.”
One time when my friend Lee Feldman talked about how his company should be about People, Profits and Planet, there's no question that it was inspiring and I can see how that can become the purpose of any organization today. He is an intelligent man. Purpose is crucial because of its scope and ubiquity. It is large, much larger than any other elements in a business model or organizational design. It is much more involving. It is a choice to pursue your destiny--the ultimate destination for yourself and the organization you and your partners founded... It draws equally upon your emotional commitment and intellectual whole--it calls upon everything you are, everything you've experienced and everything you believe in.
How many leaders out there today can talk intelligently (and authentically) about “Purpose”? Purpose is all that successful CEOs need to talk about--although they may not actually usually use the word itself. If you have that and commonly share that with your employees, that you are destinied to be great. I hope this piece can inspire those who are starting their companies and are about to embark on the journey finding that "purpose". More next week.
