Thepowerofcommunicatingyourpurposeasabusiness

You have heard this before. A successful organisation or business exists for a reason. It has a purpose. The simple dictionary definition of purpose is thus:

noun

The reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.

We hear a lot now about purpose in business. This simple word is used in our everyday lives when we talk about intent. The player curled it into the top corner from 40 yards. Ok, but did he do it on purpose, or was it a pass? In business, it has been used to describe more than simple intent; it is a word we use to talk about our business’s bigger picture.

Purpose has become the popular name for how we define our company’s core reason for being and its positive impact on the world. Purpose articulates why our company’s work matters, and it can be the foundation stone upon which our mission, vision, values and culture are all built.

We can look around us, in our everyday lives, to see why purpose and a deeper meaning have become more important to how we communicate in business. We see clues in the sheer power of why in how it is used in other, non-business settings. Consider the young child who is always asking their frazzled parent, why? They are doing this to make sense of the situation they are in. It is not enough to be told something is happening. Children are curious and have a natural propensity to want to learn, and the best way to learn is to ask why?

In journalism training, you are given some very simple advice. You will get the story, you are told, if you pose these simple one-word questions: what, when, where, why, how and who. Get answers to those queries and you will have the facts upon which you can craft your story. And then the seasoned hack, circling back into the room Colombo-style,  will tell you that often the most important of these questions is the ‘why’. The why gives us the reason. It gives us the motive. It gives us the context.

And for those of us interested in spirituality, we want to know if there a greater meaning to our existence than our time on earth. For some, it is simply not enough that we live on a rock spinning through the universe and then we die.

The power of why

Where on earth am I going with this? In a roundabout way, I’m trying to explain the potential of the word why to you and your business. Some words are simply more useful, more powerful, in what they can achieve than others, and why is right up there. Answers to the question why will so often take someone’s understanding of something to a completely different level. It can elicit meaning and motivation. It can make sense of an unusual event. And it can be incredibly powerful to us in forging relationships. As human beings, we are naturally attracted to other people with the same values as us. We are drawn to those who agree with us on what’s important. We are generally drawn to positive human characteristics, such as kindness and selflessness.

So, when we see a business that is trying to be a positive part of our lives, working hard to deliver a good service, being open and transparent about its prices, always willing to put things rights when mistakes are made, we think more highly of it. It is a ‘force for good’. We get to this good place by never losing sight of what we are doing it all for.

How a business answers the question about why it exists, should be fundamental to how it engages with the people who matter to it. A heating engineer, for example, can reply to why with the statement: I exist to fit and repair boilers. Or, they could respond by saying: We are here to keep your family warm.

Now, ask why again. The reply: because a warm and cosy home is a happy home. Staying warm is good for your mental and physical health.

This is why a heating engineer stays in business; people are happier and healthier when their homes are warm and they have hot running water. Your homeowner is not buying a nice, new boiler; they are buying a warm and comfortable home. This is a great purpose for being in business, isn’t it. You are using your skills to make the world a better place.

Consider the family lawyer’s answer to the question why? I’m here to advise people on what to do when they want a divorce or separation. Try again. I’m here to ensure your future after your split-up is not blighted by acrimony and legal battles. We’re getting closer to it. Your soon-to-be single parent is buying peace of mind.

The closer you can get to the central reason why people want what you do, the better chance you will have of making a connection when you talk to them. When you talk, your words will resonate more clearly. To borrow from information theory,  the recipient of your message does not have to decode it. Whether it is through your website, your newsletter, your social media or your radio interview, you are making a human connection. Your message lands because it is clear and simple.

Being purposeful is inspiring

At the same time, understanding your purpose as a business has a positive effect on you, the person or people who make up your organisation. Today, working people are no longer content with picking up a pay packet and living for the weekend. We search for a purpose in how we spend our time at work. We are at work for a big chunk of our lives, and many of us want to spend that time purposefully.  Articulating your why sends a clear signal to potential new employees and your existing team members about the business. By knowing why you are in business, what it really all means beyond the sales pitches and website, your potential or existing employees can buy into it. They can decide if your company or organisation fits well with their own aspirations. Purpose is important in making a connection with your own people, too.

In The Culture Builders: Leadership Strategies for Employee Performance, Jane Sparrow tells us about the many business benefits of employee engagement. These include competitive advantage, a more confident workforce, reduced sickness and lower rates of attrition. And the highest level of employee engagement, she says, is when an employee sees the significance of what they do at work  ‘An incredibly rich and powerful level of engagement happens when individuals see alignment between their role and what gives them meaning and significance in life,’ says Sparrow. She adds, ‘An organisational purpose and reason for being leads to a higher emotional connection and commitment, when employees understand and buy into the purpose. That starts an individual on the road to being an investor.’

The why helps us to build relationships with the many different groups of people who matter to you as a business, and perhaps the most important group, if you have employees, is your team.

Answer your why?

All organisations start life with the intention to succeed, but many will fail and cease to be. There are many reasons for this, such as bad management or fierce competition in the market in which they’re trying to ply their trade. For some, however, it will be down to their failure to convince enough people that a) there was a problem or issue that needed their attention, and b) their organisation had the best answer to it.

Whether your organisation is a political party, a car dealership, a window cleaning company or a training provider, it exists because it has solutions people want: It makes life better for people or other organisations because it solves a problem, or problems.

If it is successful in this purpose, it turns this purpose into profit, if it is able communicate clearly about the problem it helps to solve, and how it will solve it. Other things come into play of course, such as price and alternatives by competitors that do the same thing, but a business will simply fail if it isn’t capable of winning people’s trust.

If it isn’t able to answer the question, why?