On Purpose.
by cormac siegfried
Purpose has become the new vision. We believe the extraordinary events of 2020 have brought into sharp focus the need for, and value of, a well-articulated and practiced purpose. But even before the pandemic, purpose was already becoming vogue. Blackrock CEO Larry Fink published Profit & Purpose, a letter to the CEOs of Blackrock portfolio companies, telling them that firms, investors, and employees find greater material success through purpose — and that the proof is in the profit.
But what is purpose? And how do you serve your purpose?
Purpose is why you exist in the world, and you serve it by ensuring your purpose is well aligned with your actual business and cultural assets. If it’s not authentic to your organization, it’s all talk. Serving your purpose means knowing and seeing how your values and efforts move society toward a greater good, and not just within the leadership suite. Your investors, employees, and customers also need to know. You don’t want to leave your stakeholders guessing about your purpose. If you do, they may guess wrong — or worse, assume you don’t have one.
Recognizing the importance of purpose is a shift in corporate culture.
If you asked the famed late economist Milton Friedman what the purpose of a corporation was, he would have said it was to increase shareholder value. And if you asked him why, he would have answered that by following this macro principle, this higher-order purpose, society is best moved by the collective efforts of individuals towards good. Friedman’s concept of purpose once simplified decision-making. It was also widely adopted across society — even before Friedman articulated his impressive defenses and observations — allowing for a decent empirical review of the claim. Much was accomplished in the late 20th century, when society fully expected corporations to prioritize shareholder value. Free enterprise has introduced absurd conveniences to humanity, including affordable air travel, advances in modern medicine, and the magical harmony between blenders and frozen fruit.
We should not forget the virtuous tenets of this macro principle. However, the need for higher-order purpose has shifted, from the absolute global of Friedman’s observations of economy and good, down into the corporate boardroom itself. Employees, customers, and now even investors want to know: What is your purpose? How do you and the individuals comprising your organization move society towards good?
Your Purpose will save you.
If you can answer these questions concisely, and trust that the zeitgeist of your organization agrees as well, you will have an easier time making decisions, and those decisions will become easier to understand. This facility greatly increases your ability to adapt to challenging and uncertain situations. Larry Fink told the CEOs that purpose is connected to profit, one major reason being this adaptability. If you serve purpose in the best of times, it will serve you. And in the worst of times — such as today — it may save you.
This year has truly tested us all. Major climate events, tectonic rumblings of tension, and a global pandemic have rocked, and continue to rock, our collective consciousness. Historians study times such as these because they expose, test, and prove the human spirit — they remind us that humanity is the reason we are here. Now, however, ambiguity abounds, and it is difficult to know what to do. Let your purpose — why you matter — be your driving force in the face of the unknown.
We at Cunningham Collective feel incredible optimism even in the midst of this challenging year. Now is a time for movement. We cannot be comfortable, so we must move; let us all move toward a greater good. Establishing our unique purpose as individuals and organizations will help us know where to go and what to do to make progress. There are trying times ahead. We are not in a utopic future bereft of obligation. It is up to us to lead, love, and live our purpose — to make our imposition upon the world worthwhile.