Five things you can do to be more purpose-driven in your organisation
At ReGenerate HQ, we’ve been using this month to reflect and plan, working under our January theme of “How businesses can be more purpose-driven in 2022.” As part of that, we’ve produced this practical guide with small and big steps that can be taken to help your business to become more purpose-driven, one step at a time.
To start with, we should point out that throughout our work, we use the term “purpose-driven” instead of “purpose led” or “purposeful”. This is intentional as it implies action. You are driven by your purpose rather than being more passively led by it. This is important to bear in mind as the following recommendations require action. They are about pro-actively seeking something better - for yourself and your business - and not settling for the status quo.
Here we go…
1. Know and communicate your organisation’s purpose
If you haven’t gone through the process of really understanding what the true purpose of your organisation is, then why not set some time to actively lean in. Engage with your executive team and, if you’re on the team and people are trying to engage with you, listen to them. Engage with your employees, your suppliers and your customers. It is not easy and it takes time, so be bold and go deep!
When you know the reason for your business existing, share it. If it is something to be truly proud of, people will buy into it.
Resources:
Regenerate: What is a purpose-driven business, The case for purpose-driven business. The purpose-driven business ecosystem map
A Blueprint for Better Business: Five principles of a purpose-driven business
2. Be transparent and accountable
When you are purpose-driven, understanding your impacts is intrinsic. However, understanding the real impact of your business on society and the environment can be a daunting task. When you start with your purpose, adding metrics that demonstrate progress towards that purpose are critical. It allows you to see if the work that you are doing is pointing in the right direction. Importantly, they also allow others to see that you are delivering on your goals. This is where trust comes from.
But it is hard. If it feels like too much, perhaps break it down into more manageable units. Ask yourself 1) What the core metrics that all businesses need to report are. 2) What the core metrics that all businesses in our sector need to report are. 3) What the core metrics that will help us know that we are being successful in our purpose are. 4) To what extent these have been integrated into the business and communicated internally and externally. Embrace the scrutiny. 5) How you can integrate all of this information into your overall business intelligence reporting and keep it out of silos. Your impacts are as important as your profits. And remember - not everything that is important to your purpose can be measured, so do not just rely on data.
If you are just starting out on your journey, there are many organisations out there to help. Take a look at the purpose-driven ecosystem map directory to find them.
Key advice: Do not try to integrate everything all at once - start small, test and iterate. And remember, the metrics are not the purpose, they just help you to navigate.
Resources:
SoPact have some great materials
3. Be curious about purpose-washing
If the business’s purpose transformation is being led by marketing, double-check that the focus is on authentic transformation first and then communicating it. Not the other way around.
“Purpose-washing”, “green-washing”, “SDG-washing” etc are all terms that mean similar things. They all represent a great risk of undermining businesses that are actually doing genuine good in the world. Misleading the public and losing their faith can lead to loss of trust that can be impossible to earn back and can impact all businesses, not just the ones that are called out for purpose washing.
Think about your customers too. Do they want to be preached to about the provenance of every item they buy? It can be confusing and exhausting. Would it not be better that all businesses have a licence to operate and ‘did no harm’ so that trust was implicit. Trust is not built from marketing slogans. It is built from genuine action to be better for society.
Resources:
Your business intelligence teams, your marketing teams, your suppliers, your customers. Embrace them all.
4. Max out best practices and standards
Simply going through a checklist of what standards to integrate and what metrics to measure and report on doesn't make you purpose-driven. However, the process of looking at the standards that organisations like B Lab and the Good Business Charter take into account can really help to identify existing strengths to build on, alongside potential blind-spots.
In short, the process of signing up to a standard or certification can be helpful in getting you to ask the right questions and keep yourself honest, but ticking the boxes is not the end goal.
Resources:
5. Empower and support the pioneers
When someone is hired into a head of sustainability or purpose role, even though they get an impressive “head of” job title, they may not get the support of the organisation to be effective in that role. Budgets and P&Ls may lay with other managers, curtailing their ability to drive change. Often these individuals carry the weight of contributing positively to some of humanity's existential problems while simultaneously fighting systemic obstacles within the organisation itself.
Take a step back and ask if the organisation is set up in a way that will enable them to be leaders and agents of change or if they are being held back?
Resources:
The champions at all levels of your organisation, the visible and hidden, who 'get' purpose.
Tell us what you think
Do the points above resonate with you? Is there something else you would add? Do let us know by emailing info@re-generate.org.
