Does Your Purpose Outweigh Your Products?
I am excited about having been asked by Dov Seidman to contribute to HOW Online, a site designed to stimulate a broader conversation about the important topics in his book, “How: Why How We Do Anything Means Everything…in Business (and in Life)“.
I have spent most of my career as a corporate philosopher, mainly occupied with the reasons a company exists and the ways in which that reason is important for its stakeholders. In my mind, capitalism and the free market economy was never intended to be just about the money. It was always about a broader agenda where making money was a necessary, but not sufficient, reason for being.
I believe events like the death of communism, the transparency and openness of global capital markets, and the influence of economists such as Milton Friedman helped shape a view that the business of business should just be business. I don’t think entrepreneurs of any kind find the creativity, inspiration or intensity of passion necessary to start a business just to make money. The dream simply needs to be larger than that. In many cases, larger than life.
I see three reasons for a company to have a purpose that is greater than its products. First, purpose is the essence of who they are and it is that essence that builds the character, quality, and uniqueness of that particular business. Without it they will, at best, be like everybody else. Second, it is the aspiration attached to their purpose that will attract the imagination, creativity and passion of their people — and those people are the ones who will motivate, enthuse, and ultimately win customers over. Thirdly, we need all institutions of society to take on a broader responsibility for the problems surrounding us. If you only care about yourself no one else will trust you. And trust is increasingly becoming an important currency for companies in our global economy.
It is this topic that consumes me today. Clearly the topic of values and “HOW” are intimately linked to purpose. I am interested in your thoughts. Can a business have a purpose bigger than its products? If so, which businesses do you think meets that criteria? Why? What should businesses do more of to win their customers’ trust? Let’s talk.
Last 5 posts by Mats Lederhausen
• It's Quality, Not Quantity - June 12th, 2009
• Business' Increasing Proximity Risk - March 16th, 2009
• We Get What We Reward - February 10th, 2009
• Trust - January 24th, 2008
