In the second part of our series on corporate purpose, Re_Set Director, Emma Nineham, shares her recommendations for putting purpose into practice
This article is part of a three-part series on corporate purpose. You can go back and read part one here: How to define purpose in your organisation
A defined purpose is a wonderful first start, but if you don’t embed it into your organisation, it’s nothing more than words on paper. Embedding purpose is not an easy task – it takes time, resources, and effective leadership. But when you commit to doing it properly, you will see results.
Here’s where to begin.
1. Start with your leaders
Hopefully, a few of your leaders will have been central to defining your new business purpose. Now, what’s important is to ensure all your company’s leaders, across every corner of the business, can connect with the purpose and what it means for them. Only then will they be able to cascade the key messages and gain commitment of the rest of the organisation to the purpose.
This shouldn’t be a one-off exercise. Shaping workshops, roadshows and a well thought-through comms plan can all be important elements of forming this connection with the purpose and developing a sense of ownership at the top.
2. Keep your message simple
When it comes to cascading the purpose throughout the organisation, it’s important to build deep understanding of what it is and what it means. Keep it simple. Its key not to overthink or overcomplicate this, and ensure messages are clear.
Think creatively about bringing to life the rationale behind the purpose that was defined. (I always look at Innocent as the masters in shaping these narratives.) Then, challenge people to think about what it means for them – then to ask questions and be curious to understand more.
Ensure there’s clear alignment with the organisation’s strategy and what it wants to be known for in the future. For example, ‘How does our purpose affect how we innovate?’ ‘How does it relate to our sustainability ambitions and the impact we want to have on people and the planet?’
Purpose can also be a great lever for inclusion – it’s a tool to bring people together and align around a common reason for being tied to something together.
3. Link purpose to decision-making
Create a line of sight between the purpose and everyday business decisions. This is key in helping to get individuals bought into the bigger picture and seeing how it relates to their own goals. This is a powerful motivator, particularly in the era of ‘The Great Resignation’ and Gen-Z entering the workforce.
Create blueprints to shape future processes and activities around the purpose – from innovation, to recruitment, to supply chain decisions, to investment criteria.
Finally, align performance management and incentives with the purpose so all employees can continuously see how they are enabling the purpose within their role.
One interesting example of this came from Philip Morris International (PMI) a few years ago. The long-term producer of cigarette and tobacco products redefined their purpose as “delivering a smoke-free future”. Making this a reality relies not only on reshaping how people across the organisation thought about the brand, but also not risking a complete disconnection from the traditional activities of the business to keep paying the bills while the transition takes place.
4. Weed out what no longer serves you
In addition to implementing the new, it’s equally as important to identify any processes, behaviours or stakeholders that don’t enable the purpose.
This isn’t going to happen overnight, but it should be something you hold yourselves to over time. Initially, try to take a collaborative approach, working with suppliers or partners whose activities don’t meet your goals, to educate and find ways to come into greater alignment.
Then, if necessary, over time look to weed out anything, or anyone, that detracts from your purpose. Make a bold commitment to why you exist and what you stand for.
5. Become a team of storytellers
We all know the art of storytelling is a huge asset in any organisation – and purpose is the easiest example of how to use storytelling to greatest effect. Creating a compelling narrative around your purpose not only ensures awareness, but also encourages engagement, so that it doesn’t fade over time.
Enable and upskill leaders to bring the purpose to life through stories – from how a new product launch links back to why the organisation exists, to why the company has expanded into a new market, to why you’ve decided to put a new brand of coffee in the office kitchen. Challenge yourselves to use the power of stories to keep your purpose front and centre over time.
You can also use stories to celebrate successes that relate to the purpose, and in turn help foster commitment towards this broader goal. When Walgreens Boot Alliance last year announced their new customer-centric strategy and launched a purpose to “create more joyful lives through better health”, the CEO and other leaders shared a personal commitment for how they would live that purpose.
This article is part of a three-part series on corporate purpose. You can read the other parts here:
- Introduction: Why does corporate purpose matter?
- Part 1: How to define purpose in your organisation
- Part 3: How to measure the power of purpose
Emma is a Director at Re_Set. Want to talk to her about people-led change and purpose? Email her. Meet the rest of the Re_Set team here
