Purpose is your periscope.

There is significant data and thought leadership around the power of purpose to speed business growth, attract and engage talent, increase returns on equity and assets and even improve share price over the long term.

However, less is written about its transformative power as a reframing device for ideation and innovation.

Purpose can be the best strategic tool you have to get your head above the water line and think at the 50,000ft level.

A great purpose connects what you do, with what the world needs.  It’s this magical connection point that unlocks a more holistic and transformative view of business potential.

This really hit home for me last year when I was sat in front of a CEO, talking through his company’s new purpose.  As we were talking, it was like the periscope went up and the big ideas started flowing.

It didn’t become a conversation about communications or engagement, but about how strategic decision-making would need to evolve.

We spoke about how if this new purpose had been in place earlier, they might have made a fundamentally different decision about a particular market they were servicing.  And it started ideas flowing about the potential of new propositions that were outside their wheelhouse today but would be crucial to delivering against the purpose and to drive new commercial value in the future.

I see so many purpose statements that are ‘nice’ but simply aren’t fulfilling their periscope potential.  Largely because that connection piece between the business and the wider world is missing.  It’s stunting the problem-solving potential of businesses to push beyond what they can see right in front of them.

• Does your purpose connect what you do with what the world needs?

• Does it inspire ideation and problem-solving?

• Does it force reconsideration of what you do today?

• Does it unlock excitement about what could be...?

If the answer is no, it's not working as hard for you as it could.

Let's talk!