ON PURPOSE

The glue that holds a team together

Column by JAY PERRY

Purpose is what unites us. We don’t have to agree on everything with everyone in our lives but where these lives intersect is in purpose.

Think about any group you belong to, past or present. There was a purpose in the formation of that group. You felt a kinship with the purpose. Maybe you still belong to the group; maybe you have moved on. Maybe the group moved away from the original purpose. The point is, when you were a part of it (scouting, athletics, church, social club, etc.) the purpose was the “why” you were there.

It’s no different in business. The purpose of a business is what unites those that are employed by the company. This is why it is so important that you have a clearly defined purpose as well as the abilities to discuss and explain (teach) it to and with others. Whatever it is that your company does isn’t really the purpose. For example, if you repair cars and trucks, the purpose is not to repair vehicles but rather to provide the expertise needed by the owners of those vehicles. Solving problems is the purpose of any business.

But purpose isn’t so easily described. As most of you reading this article recognize, the deeper meaning to the purpose of what you do is to differentiate yourself from others that might be in the same industry. That could be with superior expertise and knowledge or perhaps by creating a customer experience that propels your company beyond commonplace. Maybe both.

At any rate, you can see it is critical to have that purpose defined with great detail. One of our clients (that recently won the award for one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies—the second such client of ours to have done so!) has laboured on this issue endlessly. They were able to see an industry in deep need of bettering performance in both technical expertise and customer experience, and put together a clearly defined purpose then through a variety of avenues, and shared that information with the staff.

The results speak for themselves. This client is now in a position where the traditional landscape of relationships with potentially adversarial insurance companies is shifting to a completely cooperative one. They have steadfastly measured everything they have done as to whether it separates them from the crowd. In doing so, they have positioned themselves into a setting of having these insurers seeking them out and working diligently with them to make things better for all concerned, including the mutual customer.

This didn’t happen overnight. The definition alone took months of exhaustive exercise and the communication of that purpose is ongoing to this day. They have embraced creative ways to sound down the message and convert each of their employees to fans. They don’t have a problem securing the very best talent in their field as they have the pick of the crop in whatever marketplace they choose to enter.

Define your noble purpose in detail—so you can be the one who’s driving!