"The power of purpose"

"Leaders instinctively understand the value of corporate purpose. They know that, when it is well articulated, a company’s purpose statement—or the best proxy for it, such as a mission or vision statement—serves as a north star.

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1. Make creating your purpose a strategic exercise, not a communications exercise. Simply put, strategy starts with purpose. Leaders need to take responsibility for crystalizing their company’s purpose, doing so with the conviction that purpose has great power to motivate and clarify decision-making. 

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2. Focus on how you earn money, rather than how you spend it.[Moi ici: Recordar a lição de Marn e Rosiello]

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Leaders need to do the hard work of unpacking how their organization creates impact. They can do this by making a meaningful connection between their obligations to customers and investors and the greater well-being of society—and to communicate that connection to their employees. 

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3. Identify your special power, and build your purpose around it. When answering fundamental questions such as “What critical role do we play for our customers” and “What would happen if we disappear?” many leaders struggle to find a foothold, particularly when their organizations may not have a meaningful advantage.

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However, we’ve seen that nearly all organizations have some “special power”—unique capabilities that are often unrecognized and can form the basis of a frank discussion about how to scale or transform."

Trechos retirados de "Five ways to harness the power of purpose" 

Acerca da importância de um propósito

"Organizations need a clearly articulated purpose statement that answers these questions: What is your reason for existing? What value are you giving your customers? Why is your firm uniquely capable of providing it?...
A truly powerful purpose statement is one that achieves two objectives: clearly articulating strategic goals and motivating your workforce. These objectives are important individually and synergistically. When your employees understand and embrace your organization’s purpose, they’re inspired to do work that not only is good—and sometimes great—but also delivers on your stated aims.
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Indeed, it’s hard to imagine how your employees can perform if they don’t understand your company’s purpose. How can they come to work every day ready to further the business if they don’t know what your organization is trying to accomplish and how their jobs support those goals? Yet in a recent survey of more than 540 employees worldwide conducted by PwC’s strategy consulting business, Strategy&, only 28% of respondents reported feeling fully connected to their company’s purpose. Just 39% said they could clearly see the value they create, a mere 22% agreed that their jobs allow them to fully leverage their strengths, and only 34% thought they strongly contribute to their company’s success. More than half weren’t even “somewhat” motivated, passionate, or excited about their jobs.
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At companies that have clearly defined and communicated how they create value, 63% of employees say they’re motivated, versus 31% at other companies; 65% say they’re passionate about their work, versus 32% at other companies. And these purpose-driven organizations reap substantial benefits: More than 90% of them deliver growth and profits at or above the industry average, according to Strategy& research and analyses.
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Although those questions are quite intuitive, we know from experience that many senior executives are not adequately addressing them—either because they don’t fully appreciate the importance of purpose in strategic planning, because they are too focused on short-term financial performance, or because addressing these questions shines a light on fundamental corporate vulnerabilities."

Trechos retirados de "Why Are We Here?"

Trabalhar? Até os burros trabalham, e muito!

A descrição do evento desenvolvido pela Lactaçores:

"Há menos de dois meses, a Lactaçores organizou um evento para promover o queijo São Jorge. E em que consistiu a coisa? Numa torrente de discursos (alguns penosos) de meia-dúzia de figuras das ilhas e do continente especialistas em repetir o óbvio (até o presidente da Câmara de Vila Franca de Xira falou, valha-nos Deus) e, em seguida, na degustação de queijos com compotas, bom pão e vinho do Pico (isso deve ter dado uma dor de cabeça ao chefe responsável pelo catering que nem imagino...).
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Houve alguém para falar do terroir de São Jorge? Não. Houve alguém capaz de descrever, com prova didáctica, quais são os aromas e os sabores elementares de um queijo São Jorge? Não. Houve alguém para explicar como evolui o queijo ao longo dos anos? Não. Apareceu alguém para contar alguma história sobre este queijo com centenas de anos? Não. Algum chefe - estavam uns quantos presentes - fez sugestões sobre a degustação do queijo? Clássicas ou mais arrojadas? Nada."

Faz-me lembrar aqueles que desenvolvem acções para picar o cartão. Como não recordar os monumentos à treta: Trabalho, muito trabalho. Resultados? Vão no Batalha!

- Trabalhar? Até os burros trabalham, e muito!

 Trecho retirado de "Desabafos sobre o mundo do queijo"

Trabalho, muito trabalho. Resultados? Vão no Batalha!

"Activity metrics are receiving lots of attention.  Activity metrics can be very useful, at the same time, they can stimulate a lot of, well … wasted activity.
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Too often, we focus on the wrong things as we put activity metrics in place.  We focus on the “what and how many,”  for example, “You need to make 150 dials today,” or “You have to send out 200 prospecting emails,”  As a result, the activities become “ends” in themselves, and not means to achieve certain goals."

Isto continua a ser um cancro em algumas organizações privadas e em quase todas as organizações estatais ou sem fins-lucrativos.

Ainda há dias escrevia (descer foi a tradução do corrector de algum erro que fiz ao querer escrever "de ser"):

Qual a razão descer da Santa Casa? Acabaram os pobres e desvalidos em Portugal? https://t.co/cKjxuHj3dV

— Carlos P da Cruz (@ccz1) November 6, 2018

Organizações que deixam de servir a sua causa, a sua razão de ser e passam a ter como razão de ser o serviço dos funcionários.

Ainda ontem alguém me dizia que na sua terra, no Alto Minho, se costuma dizer:

- Trabalhar? Até os burros trabalham, e muito!

Um tema com barcas aqui no blogue, por exemplo: "Mais um monumento à treta - parte II"

Trecho retirado de "Going Beyond The “What” Of Activity Metrics"

Conciliação possível?

Em "The importance of purpose in a digital world" sublinhei estes trechos

"Purpose is not a marketing idea, it’s a company idea – and it drives the entire organisation. Essentially, it’s that unique identifier that answers why the brand exists and defines how the customer experiences the brand. Purpose touches on how a company operates and delivers its social impact and its shared values.
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We call organisations that have a clear sense of purpose ‘purpose-led organisations.’ These businesses don’t just pay lip service to a cute slogan, being purpose-led means making every effort to ensure that all decisions and actions taken by business leaders – be that with customers, employees, suppliers, partners, shareholders or the wider community – fully encapsulate and transmit its values.
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With purpose, values, meaning and brand in alignment, that message must carry through every point of interaction with the outside world: websites, content, advertisements, even the helpdesk script.
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Businesses hit the sweet spot when those expressed values can, through association, say something positive about the customer. When customers get a strong sense that ‘your values are my values’, when they believe the company’s commitment to those shared values is genuine and that communicating that bond to their peer group says something desirable or favourable about them, or simply engenders a feeling of pride, that’s when the magic happens. It brings the brand to life.
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I feel as if the shift toward purpose we’re now seeing is one of a number of examples lately that demonstrate an encouraging change in the way organisations relate to the public. Whether it’s businesses and their customers or governments and citizens, it’s the human element that’s now, happily, coming to the fore.
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Purpose, in the context of business, is the realisation that companies have always sold more than what’s inside the packaging. My hope is that as western society proceeds on its collective journey toward knowing itself, we’ll see it transform into one that reflects who we are, what we want to be, and serves us in the ways that we really need."

E volto a sublinhar aquele:

"Businesses hit the sweet spot when those expressed values can, through association, say something positive about the customer. When customers get a strong sense that ‘your values are my values’"

Agora admitamos que isto tem um fundo de verdade (pessoalmente acredito que sim e escrevo-o aqui há vários anos) e acrescentemos o que Seth Godin escreveu em "We are all weird" e que sublinhámos em "Estranhistão... weirdistão".

Se a massa central homogénea de clientes está a desaparecer e a espalhar-se cada vez mais em grupos heterogéneos, como é que as empresas grandes vão conciliar a mensagem do artigo citado com a evolução da realidade? Como é que a mesma empresa vai conciliar trabalhar em simultâneo para diferentes grupos cada um com diferentes valores?

Pessoalmente não acredito que tal seja possível no longo prazo. Outra força a contribuir para o advento de Mongo e para uma paisagem de oferta muito mais diversa.