Is Your Purpose a Tactic or the Point?
your purpose is the reason you exist, not a way to make more money
Photo by Ryan Stone on Unsplash
I was on the phone for an exploratory conversation with a CEO. He was excited to do more with this “purpose thing.”
Ok, good start. But then we got to this question:
“How do I know if my purpose is making me more money? I mean, we have to be able to measure the return so I know it’s worth it.”
The problem with this statement is so subtle you almost miss it. You hear the word “measure” and think, that’s reasonable. All these thought leaders out on the internet keep talking about measuring purpose.
But what this question actually reveals is that he still sees money as the goal, not the resource.
He’s thinking about purpose as a tactic to make him more money. The measures he’s looking to develop are all about him and the benefits to his business, not about the value he’s delivering to someone else.
He’s focused on the wrong thing.
As a purpose-driven business, you exist to deliver value, and everything you do — from products, to metrics, to meetings — is finely tuned to enable you to deliver that value as effectively as possible.
Here are questions that show you’re focused on the right thing:
How do I know if I’m delivering value successfully?
How do I know if I’m helping my customers achieve what they look to me to help them with?
How do I know if I’m having an impact?
One of the ways to know you’re delivering value is repeat business. Not only did someone think you would improve their life but you also delivered well enough for them to pay for that value again and again.
Remember, money is the resource, not the goal.
Subscribe to get a weekly brief on how to run a purpose-driven business. Delivered to your inbox every Monday morning.