What’s your purpose?
We never saw it coming, but, here we are in the soup. Work life and personal life in flux. So, what a perfect time to pause and think: “What is our purpose?” Not in the theoretical or ecclesiastical sense; but, what is the purpose of our company, our brand, our service? Purpose-built brands don’t focus on what they make or what they do. As Simon Sinek says in his book, “Start With Why”, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”
Now is the perfect time to identify your purpose. You can use an objective, dispassionate insider or bring in an independent moderator. Think and talk about the meaning of what you make or do – the higher order of benefits. We often use laddering techniques to climb to broader meaning. Dove makes soap, but it’s superordinate goal is to improve young women’s self-esteem; Starbucks makes coffee, but its purpose is to globally improve people’s lives. Whether you are Fortune 500, small startup, or individual consultant. Whether B2B or B2C, your purpose is not in what you make, it’s in what you make possible.
We’ve seen how purpose-built brands weather storms. They tend to thrive, because their purpose is great, their cause is transformative. Sure, the battle is waged on pricing, features, offers, performance, communications; but, the war is won on your purpose: your genuine, authentic brand purpose.
That’s our opinion. I’d love to hear yours.
