Find out how to articulate your Purpose
Your Purpose encapsulates why you exist. It drives every decision your business makes. Your people live and breathe it, and over time it will be the reason your customers keep coming back.
Get your Purpose right and it will secure business health, profitability and future value...
Your Purpose has a big job to do, but it only consists of a few words. That’s why trying to articulate it can sometimes be a challenge.
To support you at this critical stage of your process, we have some questions to consider when articulating your Purpose statement…
Does your statement….
Articulate why you exist?
Capture the essence of your business?
Highlight the positive change you will create (how you are changing business for good?)
Stand the test of time – is it enduring – long term?
Explain a big bold ambition?
Emotionally engage people? Is it simple, distinctive and differentiating?
Lend itself to driving every decision you make as a business?
So, what's next?
1. Get Insight
The first step in articulating your Purpose is to consider your stakeholders – your employees, partners and customers.
Find out why they think your business exists, what they think does, or could, make your business stand out from the crowd; what role do they think your business can and should play in people’s lives?
All the best Purpose statements and strategies are insight driven and co-created.
2. Create consensus
Set up a workshop to bring together all your key stakeholders to finalise the Purpose. This is the opportunity to build on all your killer insights and to create the final articulation that will serve as your Purpose.
Expect healthy debate as you finalise your Purpose statement – and see this as a good thing. Debate represents engagement and passion!
3. Co-create
To ensure engagement from the outset, the development and articulation of your Purpose is a great opportunity to collaborate and co-create with colleagues across the business.
As well as asking people to help shape the Purpose, it is also vital that they are involved in how to embed it in every area of the business too.
5. Put your Purpose to the test
Before your Purpose is embedded, it’s vital to test it out. Get the thoughts of your employees, partners and even your customers, if you can.
Does your Purpose effectively communicate why you exist? Will it ensure the delivery of your business objectives? Will it help drive decisions and prove a useful compass when times are tough? Hopefully, it will tick all of the boxes – but if not, use this opportunity to refine your statement and then finalise it.
Don’t forget; don’t hesitate to get in touch with us to ask for support at any stage of developing, embedding or measuring your Purpose. It is why we are here!
To support you at this critical stage of your process, we have some questions to consider when articulating your Purpose statement...
Does your statement...
Articulate why you exist?
Capture the essence of your business? Highlight the positive change you will create (how you are changing business for good?)
Stand the test of time - is it enduring - long term?
Explain a big bold ambition?
Emotionally engage people? Is it simple, distinctive and differentiating?
Lend itself to driving every decision you make as a business?