Purpose can move you from incremental progress to exponential gains
Why would an organization prioritize a way of doing business that leads to incremental gains rather than choosing a path to achieve exponential growth?
You might say that there must be unusual risk involved that keeps them from opting for the bigger prize. Because that would explain it.
But I can tell you that’s not the case. I’m fact, there’s more risk in choosing the incremental path. It’s a head-scratcher, right?
Choosing incremental progress
The fact is that organizations do this every day. I have seen it personally with the organizations I have worked with over the decades.
Here's how it happens. The organization is not operating as well as it could. In some cases, it's pretty broken. So the board brings in a new leader.
When I was new to the business world, I believed that these guys were savants. What I came to realize is that they all pretty much followed the same playbook. Come in and identify what you could change to garner a quick win (and make the board feel like they made the right decision hiring you). Then start to move the pieces around. Look to optimize wherever you could. Sometimes companies get put through a major reorganization. Divisions get upended. Some get dismantled. Sometimes there are mass layoffs. It can be painful. I’ve seen companies come out on the other side leaner. More efficient. Shareholders feel satisfied. But the company is left wounded and scarred. It runs better for a while. Then it needs more changes. Sometimes another reorg. Sometimes it results in replacing the leader again. And then it all starts over. Rinse and repeat.
In all these scenarios, it felt like the leaders believed they could force the organization into becoming something that they envisioned. What ensued felt a lot like a constant wrestling match. It sucked to witness. It sucked even more if you were inside wondering what all this meant to you and your career.
But what was the alternative? It was the standard operating procedure.
Choosing exponential gains
There were a rare few exceptions to the rule. Organizations that believed that there was a bigger opportunity. It's what made me believe that there was a better way. And helped me write a book about pursuing that different way.
These organizations believed that just tinkering and optimizing or even reorganizing wasn't the path to doing something significant. They believed that it all started by clarifying the very reason they existed. Their purpose.
When the rare organization would start here, something special happened. They were no longer simply optimizing for short-term gains, they were opening the organization up to long-term success. This gave everyone in the organization the license to make decisions that were not constricted by a paradigm that rarely looked any further than the next quarter. Decisions that help support a bigger idea. A purpose that was rooted in the belief that the organization could help make a difference in a life, a community, or even the world.
All of this was accomplished without sacrificing the short-term gains. After all, sharing your purpose makes you extremely attractive to those you hope to serve. This helped drive heightened engagement and unrivaled loyalty.
All of this begs the question, "Why doesn't every organization do this?"
Quite simply, it is a different way of operating. A way of operating that departs from everything that most senior leadership has ever known. That’s scary. Especially if you’re someone who has built an entire career operating under the old optimize and reorganize paradigm.
I like to believe that things are changing. Major corporations are leaning into purpose. And even though adoption is not ubiquitous, the idea has entered the strategic discussions of companies everywhere.
Maybe what's most encouraging is seeing people give priority to purpose-driven brands. To move away from brands stuck in the short-sighted, incremental growth-driven paradigm. And move toward those brands focused on exponential gains. Not just for the brand, but for everyone that the brand serves.