Purpose Driven

PART 1: PERSONAL PURPOSE

Years ago, I remember a particular conversation that I was having with a supervisor that gave me some new insight to personal purpose, we’ll call him Bill. Somehow we started talking about what got us up in the morning, what kept us going. I can remember it like yesterday, because I thought Bill’s response was particularly funny. “I work for the weekends!” he said with such excitement. “I can’t wait to get out and fish every chance I get.” Since we were at work, I couldn’t help myself, so I asked him what he liked about his job. He responded that his experience led him down this path and that’s how he ended up where he is, “I just worked hard and put my head down and they kept promoting me.” It’s not that he didn’t like his job, he just had more passion with his hobbies like fishing. Maybe you can relate with this, whether it's working for the weekends or being promoted for working hard and putting your head down. Either way, the insight to gain here is that personal purpose is different for everyone, but leaders have an obligation to help connect their employee’s personal purpose with their job and company. 

Personal purpose is the underlying drive that shapes an individual's goals, actions, and behavior. It encompasses one's desire to contribute to their own life and the world around them. Just like in the story about weekend warrior Bill, he wanted to contribute to the world around him with fun and that fun was fishing. I remember him mentioning how he loved taking people fishing, like his grandson or friends that wanted some lessons. When individuals understand their personal purpose, they are motivated, engaged, and committed to their pursuits. Without this personal motivation, our companies will inevitably be filled with individuals seeking the next big thrill and waking up aimlessly, wandering to the next task. I once remember when the Operations Manager asked Bill if he would go with some clients on a fishing trip. Naturally, this was a relationship event that the Operations Manager should and would go on, but he knew that Bill was passionate about fishing. Bill went on that trip and I remember the stories that he had for years after, it was a small way to connect one of Bill’s purposes to his job. 

Personal purpose can also look more integrated into the company’s goals than fishing. For instance, I worked with a rock star Project Manager once, his personal purpose was evident. His purpose was to highly contribute to his work and his hard work became that avenue. It was in his DNA; he was a farmer, had a career in the military, and just outworked anyone around him. Now, working hard was not his only purpose, he had many. He was a father, newly married, and still farmed while doing full-time work as a Project Manager. But his hard work ethic had become a part of his purpose and it showed. He led his team to build the largest project in the company's history. Characteristics like hard work are not entirely purpose in itself, but they are linked. They can be a large part of our purpose that ultimately will connect to a larger organizational purpose.  

Building Loyalty & Retention

Employees who see their personal purpose reflected in the organization’s purpose are more likely to stay with the company long-term. This loyalty reduces turnover costs and retains valuable talent, contributing to sustained organizational performance. It seems apparent that baby boomers were known for their loyalty to a company, while generations after have adopted a mindset that “moving up the ladder” can be quickly achieved by hopping to the next company. Though, we observe this tactic to be true in some cases, in others, it just gets them more money in the short term. Leaders must be willing to put in the hard work of aligning purpose with work, along with other variables, and creating mutual success in order to retain talent. A study by LinkedIn found that employees who feel their work is aligned with their personal purpose are 2.3 times more likely to stay with their current employer. This retention is crucial for maintaining organizational knowledge and expertise. Without it, we have a revolving door, where talent comes and goes as every shiny new offer from other businesses catches their attention. Imagine the PM in the earlier story, without the company being able to help him contribute to his work, he would ultimately be unsatisfied with the status quo and find other opportunities outside the organization. 

Help Employees Find Purpose

How do we help our employees find purpose when they can’t pinpoint it themselves? This is an understandable question and comes up periodically. You can’t find purpose for others, but you certainly can help them on the journey. Jocko Willink, retired Navy Seal and co-author of Extreme Ownership, has said that purpose is our personal mission and the mission changes at different milestones of our lives. He said that when he was young, he knew that his purpose was to be some type of commando. If you’ve ever heard Willink speak before, you know this is innate for him… it certainly wasn’t forced. As he went to war and had multiple missions as a Navy Seal, he also found that his purpose had changed after his career was coming to an end. He says that when someone cannot find their personal purpose, focus on others and they will ultimately find their purpose. Sometimes purpose for ourselves does not come easy. As we discussed the Healthy Leadership Dichotomy in chapter one, if we move toward Collective Purpose and People Focused, ultimately we will find our own purpose.

MOTIVATIONS SPARK PURPOSE

Another way to help discover purpose is to understand the motivations behind our behavior. Motivations are simply the reasons people think or act a certain way. There are many motivations that people may have, but with most things, it will likely be multiple variables that reveal purpose. Think about how many combinations of motivation you might have as you read through these, but also think about how they are tied to your personal purpose.

Naturally Comes From Within

This is the desire for self-improvement, learning, and mastering new skills. This is often paired with the need for independence and control over one’s own actions and decisions. They will have a natural inclination for a sense of meaning and purpose in their work and/or activities.

External Things Can Drive Results

This is the drive toward rewards like Financial incentives, bonuses, or other tangible rewards for achieving specific goals. This can also look like recognition like public acknowledgment and praise for achievements, enhancing social status and self-esteem. Other times extrinsic motivation is career advancement, opportunities for promotions, new responsibilities, and professional development.

People Time

This is the drive for the need to feel accepted and part of a group or community. Developing and maintaining meaningful relationships with others and/or also working with others towards common goals and experiencing a sense of camaraderie.

The Need to Achieve

This is the drive to set and achieve challenging goals. This could also be the desire to demonstrate skills and capabilities and to be perceived as competent by others. Oftentimes, achievement looks like the pursuit of mastering a particular field or subject area.

Rhythm and Stability

This is the assurance of stable and continuous employment or routine. The need for a reliable income to support oneself and one’s family and/or ensuring physical well-being and a safe working environment.

Pave Their Own Path

This is the desire to influence and guide others, often associated with leadership roles. It’s the need to have control over one’s environment and the outcomes of one’s actions. Which oftentimes is paired with holding positions of authority and responsibility within an organization or group.

Design and Innovate

This is the drive to create new ideas, products, or solutions. The desire to express oneself through artistic or creative endeavors and/or the motivation to tackle complex problems and find effective solutions.

Explore and Experience

This is the desire to explore new ideas, places, or experiences. It’s the willingness to take risks and seek out new challenges. Sometimes, they might be motivated to travel, explore new cultures, and gain new experiences.

The Need to Help

This is the desire to assist others and contribute to the well-being of others. They might have a drive to engage in activities that benefit the community or society at large. Maybe even a motivation to protect and preserve the environment for future generations.

The Need for Balance

The desire to achieve a healthy balance between work and personal life. Often, they need flexible working conditions and schedules. They might want to pursue hobbies, interests, and recreational activities just as much as work. Remember the earlier story of weekend warrior Bill?!

Motivations are a gateway to understand what is driving someone’s thoughts and behavior. Once you understand some of the motivations, it can then be easier to link it to purpose. When I was in college, I found great purpose in paving my own destiny. Though at the time I didn’t realize it, 15 years later, I had been in private sector business my whole career and it was one conversation with a friend that really gave me more insight to personal purpose. As we were sitting together, he asked me about my current job and what I liked. I enjoyed my job a lot, I led many strategic initiatives and helped develop our organization across the board with key leaders. He then asked a question that I can’t forget, “What has motivated you over the years?” It was a hard question, but without much thought I said, “Hard work, people I get to work with, achieving goals, etc.” 

He then asked, “But what’s the one thing that really drives you?” Boom! There it was… I didn’t realize I had something that really gave me purpose in life other than my faith, I was focused on the outcomes more than understanding it at a deeper level. I was motivated by “paving my own path”. I didn’t realize until that moment that the internal battle that I frequently faced was this tension of working for other people. I didn’t like when my fate was in someone’s else’s hands, and I was often frustrated with decisions that were made for me. I found one of my purposes in life was to create, pave my own path, and help others develop themselves along the way. This doesn’t mean that I couldn’t work for others or that I didn’t appreciate their leadership, it just meant that I needed to be aware of that and learn how to use it for success. For me, that meant I needed autonomy in the organization to be an entrepreneur. At the time, the company I worked for did just that, they “gave me the keys to the castle”, as they called it. I had built enough trust with them, the president and CEO gave me direction and let me take the path that showed the best results. They allowed me to live out one of my purposes in life, creating my own path and developing others along the way. 

PART 2: COLLECTIVE PURPOSE

Collective Purpose is the foundational reason for a company or team’s existence beyond profit. Collective Purpose defines the impact the organization seeks to make for its stakeholders and community. A strong organizational purpose aligns the company’s strategies, operations, and culture towards a common goal that transcends financial success. Ultimately, they coincide to contribute to something larger than themselves. 

THE ALIGNMENT

The synergy between personal and organizational purpose is crucial. When employees find alignment between their personal purpose and the organization’s, it will enhance motivation, loyalty, and productivity. This alignment fosters a sense of belonging and meaning, driving success. These words all sound great on paper I know, but it is like anything else in life that’s worth pursuing, it takes time and energy to make it happen. So don’t write this off and say it’s not for you, because according to O.C. Tanner Research’s Global Report, it is one of the six talent magnets that could make your business thriving with the best talent and customers. According to the 2024 report, 73% of participants said they wanted a sense of purpose in their jobs. Don’t let me lose you here, that means that this number most likely represents 73% of your people, they want meaning to be a part of their daily work. How do you figure this out?

Google's 20% Time Policy

Google's policy of allowing employees to spend 20% of their time on projects they are passionate about has led to the creation of significant innovations, such as Gmail and Google News. This policy leverages the personal purposes of employees to drive organizational innovation. Though most small businesses can’t afford this luxury gift, we do think it can become practical for many. For example, we worked with a wonderful organization that gave all their employees three days a year to help any non-profit company they were passionate about. Three days may not seem comparable to Google’s 20% of an employee's time, but the impact can be huge when you multiply that by a hundred plus employees. 

Aligning Goals

When personal and collective purpose aligns with organizational vision and goals, employees are more committed to achieving the company's objectives. This alignment ensures that individual efforts contribute directly to the organization's success, creating a harmonious and efficient workplace. Salesforce, a customer relationship management company, has a strong commitment to social responsibility. This is just one example of how an alignment of purpose can coexist and help the organization, along with the employee, grow and develop towards their goals. 

What Happened to Mission?

In short, nothing happened to mission. It still exists, but we believe mission became watered down. It became a catchy statement that really wasn’t so catchy because it got tucked away in a binder, sometimes it wasn’t even on the company's website. We should view purpose as the vehicle that drives the mission, the most important part is that we understand why our business exists and what role we play in society. The mission will flow from this in many forms, including your compelling vision. If you want to “split hairs” on this, feel free, but at the end of the day, the Foundational Four: Healthy Leadership, Compelling Vision, Purpose Driven, and Values Centric will be the rock that everything else will be built on. Whether you use the word mission or not, you will naturally be on the journey “the mission” if you focus building on the Foundational Four. 

Your purpose most likely already exists, but simplifying it can be difficult. We’ve seen companies have a mission and purpose statement, both relaying very similar things. It was confusing to the leadership team, let alone, the employees. For years, we’ve seen multiple businesses contemplating whether they should disregard their mission statement, do a purpose statement, only have core values, or get rid of it altogether. The answer is, we should simplify it so that all our employees can remember it and understand how it’s connected to their work. If you have a mission statement already, don’t throw it away, simplify it, add purpose, and make it easy to understand and adopt. This is where the rubber meets the road, if you can’t “drive with purpose” in your business then it won’t be effective. This isn’t just something you post on your wall, write in a handbook and look at every so often. It’s part of your DNA, it is your “why”.  Most organizations have purpose all around them, made up of the very people within your walls. But even more so, you have purpose baked into what you do as an organization. You may not be fighting world hunger, but you exist for a reason. 

TAKE THE JOURNEY

It doesn’t need to be a marathon of a process, but once you have purpose in writing, it’s a marathon not a sprint. Your employees are hungry for a purposeful career that connects with their personal purpose. Take the journey and put the effort into putting it into words. First, set aside time as a leadership team, you will need no more than a few meetings in most cases. Notice we aren’t saying “purpose statement”, we really believe how you put your purpose to paper depends on your culture. It could be a statement, a few bullets, or maybe even just a sentence. It should be memorable and help drive passion collectively. To ensure that you are hitting all the right components, here is the list of questions that you could start with as a leadership team. 

1. What does your business do?
2. What makes you so unique people will try to repeat it?
3. What’s the meaning of the work you do?
4. Who does your work affect the most?

Let’s break down each question. What does your business do? We’ve realized through our practice that when you ask this question to leadership teams, it isn’t uncommon to have different answers. Far too often, we get stuck in the Daily Dismal (-), that we forget the basic demand that we are fulfilling. We often get a response like this, “When you say, what do we do? Do you want us to list out all the functions of the company?” Now this is not to make fun of people who go far into the weeds, we love those people and they play a huge role in our businesses. We actually redacted this question to help the conversation and exercise flow more smoothly; What does your business do 80% of the time? We want to have more conversation about what your company does day in, and day out. Start by listing some answers on a pad of paper with your team. You might be surprised by how you describe what you do through the lens of your team. Here are some examples:

1. Make custom cabinet components (cabinet door manufacturer).
2. Manage commercial projects while self-performing carpentry, concrete, and masonry (General Contractor). 
3. Install concrete polished, terrazzo, and epoxy floors (commercial floor company).
4. Distribute commercial, industrial, and residential plumbing products (supplier). 
5. Provide consulting and compliance services for businesses (business tax group). 

Now, move to the second question, what makes you so unique that people will try to repeat it? This question is a little deeper than the first, it requires you to not only know what those items are, but then put them into words that are inspiring. Some examples of this could be derived from one of our favorite books The Discipline of Market Leaders by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema. If you haven’t read their book, please finish this one and then immediately read theirs. This portion of the exercise is to understand what you are so good at that other companies will want to steal it. You will need to link this to your first question of what you do 80% of the time. If it’s not connected, then we have a problem that we need to first solve; your focus. Here are some examples:

1. Problem-solving - We find solutions for our customers (cabinet door manufacturer).
2. Deliver results - The best at making promises and delivering on those promises (General Contractor).
3. Development - We develop leaders who do great work (commercial floor company). 
4. Hospitality - We focus on our customer’s needs (supplier). 
5. Accuracy and speed - The best quality fast (business tax group).

Once you have some answers from the team, then add some flavorful language to help spice it up a bit… without fabricating it, for example:

1. Problem-solving - Never quit until we’ve got the best solution for our customers (cabinet door manufacturer).
2. Deliver results - Do what we say we're going to when we say we’re going to do it (General Contractor).
3. Development - Growing leaders who deliver the best work (commercial floor company). 
4. Creating win-win-win situations for our customers, vendors and us (supplier). 
5. Accuracy and speed - Scary fast and accurate (business tax group)

Now that you’ve added some colorful language to it, let it sit and move on to the next question - what’s the meaning for the work you do? This one takes a bit more time, but can’t be overlooked. Start by going back to the first question, What kind of work do you do 80% of the time? Whatever that work is, now answer “why” you do it?  Start by writing the following, “We wake up in the morning because…” Here are some examples:

1. …because we love using our world-class skills to find solutions for our customers (cabinet door manufacturer). 
2. …because we love to build landmarks (General Contractor).
3. …because we are growing leaders (commercial floor company).
4. …because we are helping build our community (supplier). 
5. …because we love seeing  businesses win (business tax group).

Putting It All Together

The full process of doing this takes time and energy mixed with a little creativity. We don’t believe that all companies will have a rigid way to relay their purpose. For some, it could look like a polished statement, for others, it will be a tagline or a list of bulleted phrases. No matter what it looks like, it’s more important that it truly shows purpose and helps your employees connect their purpose to the organizations. Here are some small business examples: 

1. We develop our world-class skills while finding solutions for our customer’s biggest challenges (cabinet door company). 
2. We build landmarks that impact the lives and communities we serve (General Contractor).
3. We grow leaders who deliver best work (commercial floor company).
4. We are building up communities we live and serve in (supplier). 
5. We help businesses win and keep their hard earned money (business tax group). 

HOW TO NAVIGATE PURPOSE

Purpose Driven articulates an organization’s fundamental reason for existing, serving as a guiding compass for its strategies, operations, and culture. Here are some ways a company can use their purpose to drive results and meaning:

Guiding Organizational Culture

Values Centric: develop and promote values that reflect the purpose, fostering a culture that aligns with the organization’s meaning. 

Behavioral Expectations: set expectations for employee behavior and interactions that are consistent with the purpose, reinforcing the desired culture.

Developing Employee Engagement and Retention

Hiring and Recruitment: attract candidates who resonate with the “why”, ensuring a workforce aligned with the company’s purpose. Incorporate the purpose into onboarding programs to instill a sense of collectiveness from day one.

Employee Development: offer development opportunities that align with the purpose, helping employees grow in ways that support the company’s purpose.

Enhancing Customer Relationships

Brand Messaging: Infuse marketing and communication materials with the purpose statement to create a compelling and authentic brand narrative.

Customer Experience: Design customer experiences that reflect the purpose, creating deeper connections and loyalty.

Driving Innovation and Creativity

Innovation: Use the purpose to guide innovation efforts, ensuring new products and services align with it.

Empowerment: Encourage employees to propose and develop ideas that advance the company’s purpose, fostering a culture of creativity.

Enhancing Community Relations

Initiatives: Align community activities with the purpose to ensure they are meaningful and impactful.

Employee Involvement: Encourage employee participation in community efforts that reflect the company’s purpose, increasing engagement and impact.

Improving Performance

Outcomes and Results: Develop key measurables and track progress toward fulfilling the purpose, ensuring accountability and focus.

Balanced approach: Integrate purpose-driven metrics into key outcomes of the business to track performance across multiple dimensions.

Aligning Strategy and Goals

Winning Strategy: integrate purpose into the strategies to ensure all long-term goals align with their existence. 

Decision Making: use the purpose as a criterion for making business decisions, ensuring they contribute to the overarching purpose. 

Every thriving business will do this! Don't just be another business, put in the hard work. 

Harrison Tash

Founder of Living Water