By Michael Gidlewski

Core Purpose communicates the difference you want to make in the lives of the people you touch.

A famous study by Gallup found that millennials overwhelmingly want to contribute to an enterprise they believe in. Stanford University found the same of workers across the age spectrum.

But what does it mean to “believe in” an enterprise? What’s the workforce looking for?

Until recently, managers were taught that people work out of self-interest and that they will work for the highest remuneration. Most executives today were either taught this, or they became managers under mentors who had been taught this. Being a leader meant that you directed people’s behavior by apportioning rewards.

That’s still important, but it’s not enough, and managers often have a hard time switching gears. Today, rewards have to exist in the context of a larger purpose. Earning a reward needs to mean that some greater good was also accomplished.

Leadership today means looking past your P/L to see what your business means – or could mean – to your customers and to your community.

Your Core Purpose is about what you specifically do for the people you touch. When they’re satisfied, how have you changed their lives?

Beware of answers that apply to everyone. “Customer satisfaction,” for example, is not a Core Purpose. It’s table stakes for any organization.

Your company exists to impact the world in a particular way. That’s your Core Purpose. What you do and how you do it will change over time. But why you do it won’t. Your Core Purpose is the why. No matter what your business is, there’s a Core Purpose that your team will immediately appreciate.

To help you define it, try starting your Core Purpose with the word “To … ”

For an example let’s look at one of the oldest environmental groups in the world, the Sierra Club in the United States. Its Core Purpose is, in part, “to educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment.”

They want to change the lives of the people they touch. It doesn’t say a word about how they’re going to do it. The “how” will change. But “why” they do it, to restore the environment, has been the same for more than a hundred years.

Everyone in their organization sees their work in the context of that big picture. This has a powerful transformative effect. If you do it, your employees will see that their goals and tasks serve a greater purpose. Leaders who provide context like that build cohesive teams that leave competitors behind.

Next week, I will discuss how Strategic Positioning shows you are meaningfully different from your competitors.

On Wednesday, Dec. 5, I will be hosting The Swift Kick, a half-day program at Penn State Great Valley that will enable business owners, CEOs, and entrepreneurs to gain clarity, define their focus, and improve their results. Click here to register.

_________

Michael Gidlewski is President of West Chester-based Achievement Unlimited, Inc., as well as a growth catalyst and motivational speaker. He works with motivated business owners and entrepreneurs to clearly define the elements of what they dearly want their businesses and lives to look like, then helps them connect all the moving parts that make up those visions to consistent action and habits. Michael can be reached at 610-793-6609 or via e-mail at michael@achievable.com.

[uam_ad id=”80503″]

.

[uam_ad id=”80502″]