Purpose holds the power to restore meaning into work

I have long thought that business could benefit from a back-to-basics movement such as we periodically see in education. Instead of the "3 R's", in our case it would be "the 3 P's" of Purpose, People and Process. I would also assert that the first among these three equals must be Purpose. It is both driver and catalyst, and without it a business almost inevitably finds itself wasting precious time and resources on things that don't really matter. Purpose creates clarity and passion. It creates meaning where there previously was little or none. We talk about leaders, often those who are most successful, as being single-minded, focused, high-energy, charismatic and enthusiastic. The common element to all of those descriptions is Purpose real, tangible, fire-in-the-belly-creating Purpose. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it well when he stated that "There is really no insurmountable barrier save your own inherent weakness of purpose."

If Purpose is so important to organizational success, why isn't it No. 1 on the agenda of every corporate meeting or management retreat? Does it even matter for the small business owner, the division or department head, or a front line supervisor? Or is the "Power of Purpose" solely the purview of the boardroom and corner office? I would submit that not only does Purpose matter, and matter at every level of the organization, but it can be one of the most important elements in business and personal success.

What is Purpose and how does one bring this powerful tool to bear in the workplace? Let's address these questions and discuss how Purpose can make a difference for any business, division, department, or work group. Purpose is talked about all the time. Whenever we talk about our vision for the company or the mission of the organization, we are talking about Purpose. Unfortunately, often useful concepts get caught in a "buzzword quagmire", only to become new squares on the "Corporate BS Bingo" board. Things like synergy, TQM, reengineering, Six Sigma, the customer is always right, our people are our most important asset, and strategic positioning are often discounted and ignored in spite of evidence supporting their value.

By the way, I think it's amazing that when you take a close look at many "new" business concepts and ideas, most of them were first proposed by the likes of Peter Drucker or W. Edwards Deming decades ago. Some are traceable to even more ancient thinkers like Socrates and Aristotle. That, however, is a discussion for another time.

The challenge for anyone looking to use the "Power of Purpose" in their organization is that they first must get past the cynicism that is so prevalent in many workplaces before they can put the underlying principles to work. That is a big challenge. I once worked with an organization whose head was famous for identifying whatever was "new" and "hot" and bringing it back to the business. The problem was that many of his direct reports treated the new ideas as if they were some cure-all elixir purchased from a traveling miracle man and con artist. They ignored completely the sound business principles which were based on legitimate research.

The challenge of change is exacerbated by the fact that we live in a society that has radically shortened the time between desire and gratification. We regularly sacrifice context on the altar of expediency. Why read a newspaper when we can get all the information we want in a 15-second sound bite from a blog or even Headline News? We want our headache to be gone the second we take a pill. Unfortunately, anything that involves people like businesses, families, relationships and the like takes time. There is no shortcut. It is the proverbial "Law of the Harvest." And Purpose, which is all about getting everyone focused on the same goals and objectives, is all about the people. It is why Purpose is often considered the purview of leadership, if for no other reason than that the top of an organization is a high leverage position from which to implement the Power of Purpose.

What makes up Purpose? There are five components and two characteristics that serve as necessary conditions for Purpose to be effectual and meaningful in an organization. The components are vision, mission, objectives, strategies, and metrics. The characteristics are alignment and measurability. One of the best analogies I can think of to demonstrate the necessity of these components and characteristics is to compare Purpose to a piano. In order for a piano to create beautiful music, it requires many pieces to come together and work in harmony. In the piano itself, the sound board is useless without the strings, the strings are irrelevant without the hammers that strike them, and the keys are necessary to begin the whole process. But that's not all. Without well-written music and a pianist to play it, the piano is nothing more than a piece of furniture. It is the same with Purpose. Purpose is nothing more than organizational furniture if all it includes are flowery phrases and empty words. The issue for every organization is how to make Purpose play the organizational equivalent of beautiful music.

The good news is that it is far easier to create effective Purpose than most organizations realize. The process of developing vision, mission, objectives, strategies and metrics is usually a rewarding and positive one when it is done with the objective of laying out a road map for moving the organization forward. Too often we approach such "strategic planning" tasks as an end in and of themselves rather than as part of a larger and more important process. These five components establish the framework for a strategic dialog that must take place in order for companies to develop the capability to respond quickly and appropriately to changes in their markets. However, while necessary, these five components are not sufficient for developing a powerful organizational Purpose.

The sufficiency comes from adding to the mix the characteristics (or principles) of alignment and measurability. Alignment means that all five components are linked together in a logical and reasonable way. In other words, if this is my Vision and my Mission, then these are the Objectives and Strategies necessary to achieve that Vision and Mission. And given a particular Strategy, this metric will provide me with on-going feedback relative to my progress toward my Mission and Vision. It is alignment which takes individual links and forges them into a useful chain. Measurability means that we must be able to determine where we are and where we are going in some quantifiable way. To ignore measurability is to undertake the business equivalent of a wilderness trek without the benefit of a map and compass. The risk can be devastating.

When organizations put the "Power of Purpose" to work, the results are dramatic. Good processes and employees become great processes and outstanding employees. Turnover drops. Profits increase. Time to market is slashed for new products. Customer satisfaction rises to new, previously undreamed of levels. But perhaps most importantly, work becomes meaningful again.

Alan L. Austin is managing director of Efficio Consulting Group LLC, a Sparks-based firm helping organizations make significant improvement to operational and financial performance. Contact him at alan.austin@efficioconsultinggroup.com or (775) 224-4175.