On Purpose

"Companies that have and exude a core purpose
outperform their peers 6:1."

- Jim Collins, "Good to Great"

Those of you that know me know how much the book and video "Start with Why" influenced the way I looked at the power of the "soft concepts" of coaching people to be better leaders and build better companies. As an old corporate guy, I always thought I would be helping people 90% of the time with the "hard business concepts", and maybe the other 10% would revolve around these so called "soft things", the personal development, habits, focus, motive and building things.

I have found that nothing could be further from the truth. We spend a lot more time working on the habits, the discipline and the values and core purpose of an organization than on anything else. That work pays off many times over and produces the biggest bang for the leaders and their companies.

The very first thing I would suggest you do in a journey to get your business to the next level is uncover the core purpose of your business. You know what you do, you know how you do it, but have you ever thought why you do it? This is your core purpose for coming to work every day.

Defining and communicating this not only to your employees but to your customers will do more than anything to grow your business profitably.

Purpose makes you money, it drives sales, it attracts Ideal Customers, it inspires your employees, and it inspires you.

Purpose does not have to be world changing. It simply is how you help people have better lives by doing what you do, how you do it, and why you do it.

For example my purpose is:

"Helping business owners build better, more profitable businesses so they can realize their dreams."

What do I do? I'm a business coach. How do I do it? By learning, sharing this learning and creative problem solving (these last 3 things are my personal Why's , I love doing them, I'm having fun while I do them and I am doing my best work when I am engaged in one of these 3 things. Regardless if it is at work or home, this is where my passion comes from. )

Study after study shows that salespeople who understand and believe in their companies purpose outsell their "benefits and features peers" time after time. They have that added passion of believing what they are selling will help people instead shooting for a target or incentive by commissions.

What are your Why's and what is your company's core purpose? Think about it and define it, then communicate it over and over to employees and customers. It is powerful when you do something on purpose.

To get started check out this 18 minute video:
 

Start With Why

 

All the best,

Rick Wallace