A Community of Purpose (adapted from Purpose: The Starting Point for Great Companies by Nikos Mourkogiannis)

In the prior two Weekly Insights we have examined that establishing your Purpose (and the Purpose for your organization) is paramount if you are to be successful in this life or the life to come.  We have also suggested that you must align your organization’s purpose with the strategy you have developed for the organization.  This Weekly Insight focuses on the “collective action” that must occur if your strategy and purpose are to be implemented with any degree of effectiveness. 

The author suggests that you ponder the T-I-M-E required to develop excellence in the establishment of Purpose and in the creation and implementation of strategy.

T – Think –     Devise a direction or outline a plan

I – Inspire –    Generate collective support for this direction and the kind of action that will be required.

M – Mobilize – Make sure that all the relevant individuals agree to cooperate and to accept specific roles.                           

            E – Empower – Set up the systems needed to maintain momentum.     

 Thinking is the starting point of any change.  Without it you cannot possibly discover your Purpose, choose your strategic position, and align the two.  And to do this properly, you must consistently set aside large blocks of T-I-M-E for strategic and purposeful thinking.  This is not easy to do. 

(How much time each week do you set apart for Thinking about purpose, strategy, and alignment?)

The author also emphasizes the need to develop a Community of Purpose among the organization’s stakeholders.  Steps to develop a Community of Purpose include:

·        Create a top team, all of whose members are leaders.

·        Spend some time on the “front line” of your organization.

·        Present the Purpose in ways that make it emotionally real.

·        Engage in dialog with individuals and groups—awaken their Purpose.

What a challenge it is to motivate and inspire any group of human beings to consistently work towards common goals under the banner of a common Purpose!  One person mentioned that it issimilar to “herding cats.”  Cats just seem to have a mind of their own.  And so do people.   

The author does suggest a few things to help you turn the commitment of your people into action that is focused on your organization’s Purpose, strategy and goals. 

·        Work with your lieutenants to develop a “first pass” on the operating goals implied by your organization’s Purpose and strategy.

·        Assemble teams that are suited to achieving these goals.

·        Negotiate and thus refine and develop the goals.

·        Continue to learn as this process continues.  Draw out the implications of your negotiations for your organization’s Purpose and strategy.

·        Monitor support for your organization’s Purpose and strategy.  Don’t expect unanimity—but make sure you have a critical mass of support. 

In fact, there will rarely (if ever) be100% support for your organization’s Purpose and strategy.  But you don’t need 100% agreement to be effective.  What matters is that there is sufficient consensus to keep moving things forward despite the disagreements along the way.  NOTE: There must be 100% support of your organization’s Purpose by your top team. 

Get off the Treadmill

Have you ever been walking or running on a treadmill when something “pops” into your head?  Perhaps you need to call someone or write something down or…any number of things.  But you just can’t do it right at the moment.  Why?  You’re on a treadmill.  The treadmill determines your schedule, your movement—even your vital signs!   

Life can be like that—especially life in the marketplace.  We awake each morning and without even thinking, we step onto the treadmill—our day begins.  For some, the treadmill will dictate each waking moment of each day in the marketplace.   

My challenge to you this day is to consider “stepping off the treadmill” on a regular basis to spend some T-I-M-E thinking about your Purpose as a person on this planet and your Purpose in the marketplace.    

Treadmills are useful.  But you can’t spend your whole life on a treadmill, can you? 

Keith 

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