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Problems with Purpose statements

In most organisations the Purpose Statement is uninspiring corporate speak. It is far too long, almost impossible to remember and will mean little or nothing to anyone at the coal face.

One of the problems of executives going off to come up with the Purpose Statement is that they slowly squeeze the life out of the words until they end up with some tepid statement about being the "market leader" or "world class" or focusing on what they do rather than why they do it.

However by far the greatest problem associated with Purpose Statements is the belief that many managers have that once they have written the Purpose statement, the job is complete. In actual fact this is the easy part and once it is completed the job has only started. Purpose statements have almost no value until they are in the heads of every single person in the organisation. They need not only to be in every head, but they also need to be there so strongly that the people will take action and move according to the Purpose statement. To achieve this they have to, not only understand it, but believe in it with a passion and with intensity.

A great deal of the work that I do is about getting this level of passion and intensity into every single head in the organisation. When this is achieved the organisation has such power that it has to be seen to be believed.

For a Purpose statement to be effective, individuals and teams throughout the organisation must understand it and see its implications for their job.

There are many companies with no purpose other than to make money, no passion, no love or respect for the customer, no drive, no point of view, no character, no integrity (in the sense of wholeness). They are under extreme pressure to make money, often for overseas owners. They have lost the reason the brand existed. Confusion, lack of direction, disillusionment results; they don't know who they are.

This is a pity because people want to be part of an organisation that is going somewhere meaningful.

"Early on we recognised that there is a burning need for people to feel part of a an ennobling purpose. If it is absent they will seek fulfilment only in outside interest instead of their work."

Bill O'Brian CEO Hanover Insurance

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