Reframing The Big P.

There are many Hollywood dreams, which we have been conditioned to desire. The perfect relationship where the partners adore their idiosyncrasies till death do them part. The boundary-less friendship, where the friend leaves everything at the drop of a hat and travels across the country to help a mate in trouble (that they got themselves into, again).

But perhaps one of the most elusive dreams we aspire to is that of Purpose.

One day, our protagonist has had enough of the corporate shenanigans and wakes up to the Great Realisation that his Purpose is to help disadvantaged junior league baseball players. He quits his job, becomes a full-time coach, leads the team to the finals and wins in life. Thanks to this epiphanic discovery everything else falls into place with all-knowing certainty. Job Done!

Now, aren’t we setting ourselves up for a slight disappointment by subscribing to this dream?

Purpose is not one day discovered in its fully packaged version to live happily ever after. It is something you decide on, create and nurture through a series of intentional actions.

Interestingly organisations have been a bit more realistic than individuals, as they realise the necessity to define their purpose, rather than to discover it. Although the process is far from perfect, what is there to learn from corporate purpose setting that could be applied to our personal quest for meaning? 

I. From Mission Slogan To Corporate Purpose 

The process of defining corporate purpose usually incorporates three main elements: competence (“the function that our product serves”); culture (“the intent with which we run our business”); and cause (“the social good to which we aspire”). Typically, corporate purpose is perceived as a business decision anchored in long-term strategy.

Much more than a nice-to-have facilitating employee engagement, corporate purpose has become a key factor in positioning the organisation in a wider societal context.

The discussion around corporate purpose has imposed a crucial shift, moving away from focusing solely on shareholders to considering all stakeholders.

Of course, some companies will pay lip service to purpose whilst ruthlessly leveraging it for profit, whilst others will actually walk the talk and marry profit with purpose. For some, their societal cause will even become the main objective driving all business decisions.

So, on the one end of the spectrum, we have corporations such as Purdue Pharma where its purpose of “compassion for patients” and “integrity” did not stop it from aggressively marketing #OxyContin to the wider population and contributing to the opioid epidemic in the US. On the other end, there is #YvonChouinard giving away all the shares of its outdoor clothing company #Patagonia to a trust to help fight the climate crisis and setting a new threshold for conscious leadership with his powerful statement. ‘Earth is now our only shareholder’. 

Regardless of where your organisation falls on this spectrum, congruence with its corporate purpose will be examined by employers, potential talent and investors as a mark of authenticity and impact. 

Companies determine their corporate purpose through a process involving defining their values, deciding on their desired impact and committing to a cause within or adjacent to their competence (or close to their stakeholders’ interests) through a series of intentional actions. They realise this process takes time and requires re-evaluation and adjustment over time.

Perhaps we could adopt a similar strategy? Below are some questions to get you started.

II. 5 Questions To Ask Yourself When Defining Your Purpose

1.     What Are My Key Values? What Do I stand for?

2.     What is permanent? What (and who) do I want to keep committing my energy and time to, no matter what?

3.     What kind of legacy would I like to leave behind?

4.     What specific actions can I take to bring my life more in alignment with my values?

5.     How can I make the mundane more meaningful? How can I link my everyday activities to what I stand for?

Each of these questions is a separate topic of its own and they cannot be answered in an instant. A good place to start is to create space for reflection, discuss these with a coach or a mentor, notice where we are out of alignment, and remain open to adjustment if what we believed in 20 years ago is no longer relevant.

Defining your personal purpose won't magically remove all your existing problems or eradicate challenging experiences. But it will give you more resilience and steadfastness to face them.

A living and breathing purpose, that has a practical implementation, will also increase our sense of meaning & belonging, reconnect us to our values and a sense of excitement about life.

Of course, personal purpose is very different from setting a corporate purpose in many ways. You are the key stakeholder here, taking ownership of your life, its meaning and direction. We are however surrounded by crucial stakeholders– family, friends, team members – people we love or care for, who infuse our life with meaning and depth.

It is therefore normal to have several purposes – a personal one, a professional one and the one through which you’d like to contribute in society. These do not have to be in opposition to one another – you do not have to quit your job and coach a junior league to make a mark; leading your team authentically and in integrity with your values is a major feat as well, and can transform your organisation from within. So is raising your children, or any other cause to which you purposefully commit your time and energy.

Ultimately our purpose is a life-long work in progress that is as much about conscious connection to yourself, as it is about connecting to others. It can be our lives' work and it can also change over time.

Natalia Mank, Rise To Success Newsletter, originally published on the 16th of September, 2022.