Brands that I’ve worked with over the years have all agreed about the importance of embracing a purpose. Yet, many times, that agreement was accompanied by a reluctance.

At first, this struck me as odd. These brands all recognized that a purpose-driven approach is the most powerful way to connect with those you hope to serve. So why the hesitation?

It wasn’t that they didn’t believe in their purpose. Or that they thought it wouldn’t be meaningful enough. 

It was because they were worried that they wouldn’t be able to live up to the purpose.

The horror story

There have been horror stories of organizations that announce a newly clarified purpose. They launch a major communications effort. Then, suddenly, the criticisms come. People begin to point out the inconsistencies between what the brand says (their purpose) and what it does. Some of the inconsistencies are portrayed as so egregious that the brand’s whole purpose-driven approach now seems manipulative. Even unethical. It begins to look like an attempt to skew our emotions to separate us from our dollars.

Repairing this kind of damage can be overwhelming. This wasn’t lost on the leaders of organizations who were considering a purpose-driven approach.

As a consultant, I became a sounding board for their fears. And I found myself doing a lot of hand-holding. Here are a couple of the insights I would offer organizations to help them overcome the fear and take advantage of one of the most exciting brand opportunities that I have encountered over my nearly four decades of doing this.

“We’re not ready”

This seemed inevitable. An organization would hire me to help them clarify their brand purpose. We would go through an in-depth discovery and development process that would uncover the meaningful purpose that was in the DNA of the organization. 

All would be good. And then we would start to talk about how we were going to share the purpose – first within the organization and then the world. This is when the fear would set in. I would hear things like, “I’m not sure we have everything in place to deliver on our purpose.” That would lead to, “Let’s delay the rollout until we have some other things taken care of.”

It was amazing how an organization that was so energized by its newly clarified purpose could suddenly become so terrified.

The truth is, you will never be 100% ready. Because every organization is going through a constant evolution. There will always be changes that happen within the organization that could potentially be in conflict with your purpose. 

This is one of the insights I share with organizations, showing them how they can use their purpose to help make hard decisions.

It takes these 3 things

You don’t have to let your perceived purpose-readiness stop you from embracing your purpose. And, no, I’m not going to tell you that you just have to deal with some outsized risk.

Again, I’ll tell you what I’ve told all those I’ve helped in years past. It is simply a matter of transparency, expectation management, and constant communication.

Nobody expects you to be perfect. But they do expect you to be honest. With yourself and with them.

As you introduce your purpose, let everyone know that this is your aspiration. It is a work in progress. It is imperative that you recognize the areas where you need to improve in order to live up to your purpose. And imperative that you communicate this to the world. In fact, I recommend a regular report on your efforts that includes your stumbles as well as your strides forward.

People will cut you some slack if they can sense that you are real and humble, and truly working toward living up to the purpose that you embrace.

Don’t think of it as a launch

Purpose is not like an offering that you develop and launch. Think of it more as an evolution. Or better yet, a journey. Share that with those you hope to serve. More importantly, invite them along on that journey. You may be surprised by how they join in and even collaborate with you in the pursuit of your purpose.

That can lead to you thinking less about why you’re not ready and more about what amazing thing you could share next with all those you hope to serve.