If you’re reading this as a commercial enterprise, purpose is not about ditching profit and suddenly getting all causal about things. It’s about putting purpose at the centre of your enterprise, putting it before profit and being purpose-led, because, ironically, companies connected to their purpose end up being 10 – 18 times more profitable than those companies who focus solely on profit itself. The two are inextricably interlinked. And it makes sense. Work is intensely personal. The more we as companies can tap into what our employees care about, the more inspired they will be at work, and the more inspired they are, the more they will contribute to the success of our company. If you add to this the possibilities of also connecting your other stakeholders to your purpose – selecting suppliers who resonate with your purpose, for example, and ensuring that the brand you put out into society reflects your purpose – then a powerful ripple effect is created that sustains itself and is far more effective than a leader trying to gee up the troops from the front.
Via David Hain