I was reading a consultant’s blog post in which he was offering advice to businesses curious about incorporating purpose into their approach.
His advice was troubling. His view was that it was enough to simply make sure the business was viable. I agree that viability is the baseline. The business has to be viable in order for it to continue. But he had the view that purpose was a distraction. It was a nice-to-have. And he viewed it as a trade-off. In other words, he portrayed pursuing a purpose as a potential threat to ensuring a viable operation.
It’s not either/or
Companies do not make the decision to pursue a purpose at the expense of success. In fact, it’s just the opposite. They pursue a purpose knowing that it will amplify their success.
Taking this approach does not add distraction as this consultant assumed (he obviously doesn’t have experience helping an organization adopt this game-changing approach). It gives you incredible clarity and focus on something that you have a real passion for. That is the kind of combination that energizes and motivates customers, prospects, and even your team members. The kind of approach that leads to success on so many more levels than just running a viable business.
