#5

In my last newsletter, I introduced you to Allies. These folks are the backbone of successful organizations. They are drawn to your Purpose, unlike Champions who connect emotionally to your Values.

I mentioned I'd be introducing Skeptics this week, but I've received enough questions about Purpose that we need to dig deeper first.

The Purpose topic has dominated corporate discourse for a decade. I'm not going to add to the noise. Instead, I'm going to tell you how we actually use Purpose in our work, and why many organizations struggle with the subject.

Beyond Mission and Vision Theater

A few newsletters back, I shared insights on corporate Values and their tendency to live in generic, safe and forgettable realities. The same applies to Vision/Mission statements that adorn offices and websites. Aspirational futures paired with operational mandates, both too vague to guide decisions and too grandiose to connect with daily work.

Such statements attract no one and repel no one, which means they create no magnetic field at all.

A well-crafted Purpose statement replaces both. It articulates why you exist and what impact you're trying to create in language specific enough to guide decisions and magnetic enough to attract aligned relationships. You don't need three statements telling people three different things. You need one truth that's clear enough to act on.

Not All Purpose Is Created Equal

Every company claims to be purpose-driven now. Even tobacco companies have purpose statements about "responsible innovation" and "adult choice."

Your purpose might be "to become the leading provider of X in our market." That's a purpose. It drives decisions. It might motivate your team. But it's a purpose about you, not about the world.

The purposes that create magnetic organizations connect your success to something larger than your success. They answer: "If we achieve everything we're setting out to achieve, how is the world better for it?"

The Greater Good Question

Is your purpose actually about making the world better, or is it just about making your business better?

Most corporate purpose statements are really just business strategies dressed up in aspirational language. "To deliver innovative solutions" means "to sell more stuff." "To empower our customers" means "to increase market share."

These might be legitimate business goals, but they're not purposes that attract Allies. These people need their work to mean something beyond quarterly returns. The purposes that create deep, lasting relationships are the ones where your success contributes to something larger than your success.

Your purpose needs to answer: "Why should anyone care that you exist, beyond the people who profit from your existence?"

Who This Is For (And Who It Isn't)

Our approach to Purpose isn't for everyone. If your purpose is maximizing shareholder value or dominating your market—own it. Build your organization around that clarity. There's honesty in operating purely for profit without pretending otherwise.

But if you're going to declare a purpose that connects your success to something larger, you better be willing to back it up—with choices that cost you something and outcomes you can measure.

We're not here to judge which path you choose. We're here to tell you that claiming a higher purpose while operating purely for profit will hollow out your organization faster than having no stated purpose at all.

The performance of purpose creates cynicism. The practice of purpose creates magnetism. Choose one or the other. The middle ground is quicksand.

The Impact Investor Test

Impact investors don't just look for companies with stated purpose—they look for companies whose purpose creates social outcomes that wouldn't exist otherwise.

An impact investor seeks to produce beneficial social outcomes that would not occur without their investment. The investment only has "impact" if it increases the quantity or quality of social outcomes beyond what would have otherwise occurred.

Apply this to your purpose: Does it create outcomes that wouldn't exist without you? Does it increase the quantity or quality of something meaningful in the world? If your stated purpose is "to be the most trusted provider in our category," ask yourself: what social outcome does that create? 

The magnetic purposes are the ones where achieving your business goals and improving the world are the same thing, not separate things.

Purpose Without Impact Is Theater

Now comes the hardest part: proving you actually deliver on it. Purpose without impact is just good intentions. 

A beautiful purpose statement that doesn't actually change anything is corporate theater. The company you keep can tell the difference between organizations that talk about making a difference and organizations that actually make one.

Your purpose statement is magnetic only when it reflects real impact. When the right people can see, feel and experience the difference you're actually making.

The Gap Between Output and Outcome

Impact can be measured in two ways: Output and Outcome. An output is the product or service you produce. The outcome is the effect of that output in improving people's lives. Most companies measure outputs obsessively and outcomes barely at all. They track products sold, services delivered, customers served. But they rarely track how those outputs actually changed anything that matters.

If your purpose is "to help people live healthier lives," measuring outputs means counting gym memberships sold. Measuring outcomes means tracking whether people's health actually improved.

The gap between those measurements is the gap between intention and impact.

Purpose Is Your Magnetic Core

Champions are drawn to your Values—they see themselves in how you behave. Allies are drawn to your Purpose—it gives their work meaning and provides a North Star. Both need to see that your purpose creates actual impact. Champions need it to validate their belief in your values. Allies need it to justify investing their talent and energy.

If your purpose is just words on a wall, you'll attract neither.

Next week, we'll discuss Skeptics—the people who want to believe you but need proof first. They're more challenging than Allies and more valuable than you think.

Until then, ask yourself: Does your purpose pass the impact investor test? Would the world be measurably different if you achieved it.

-Steve

P.S. You can measure the authenticity of your purpose by counting how many decisions it actually influenced in the past year. If the answer is zero—if your purpose statement lives on your website but never enters your boardroom—you actually don't have one. Your Allies already know this, and they're currently deciding where to go next.