Purpose vs Mission – Only a few years ago, organisations were tying themselves in knots to create the perfect mission statement. This big-ticket item was emblazoned across corporate literature and meant to drive business direction. Organisations were mission-led and focused on profit maximisation.
Today there is a focus is on the Purpose. But what is an organisational purpose, and how does it differ from a mission? Definitions of strategic terms can be nebulous! Working at ‘35,000 feet’ will often cause an employee to switch off. This has always been the problem with a mission statement. A ground-level employee will ask the question: “what’s in it for me? Why should I care”.
This is where a well-defined purpose has a huge advantage. Purpose engages the heart. It defines a reason for being part of something and, more importantly, a desire to be part of the action.
Understanding purpose vs mission
Yesterday’s approach: The vision or mission statement
Typically profit and task-oriented, these written statements encapsulate the business direction of travel. They explain goals and desired accomplishments.
Today’s approach: Purpose
Organisational purpose is more holistic. It describes the reason for an organisation’s existence and its journey.
In essence, we can look at purpose as a fundamental reason for being here.
An example in action:
PricewaterhouseCoopers’ mission is: “To help organizations and individuals create the value they’re looking for, by delivering quality in assurance, tax and advisory services.
But its purpose is: “To build trust in society and solve important problems.”
You can instantly understand the difference. The first statement might well tick investor boxes and guide management priorities. But the second instantly engages hearts and minds and makes the reader feel they want to be part of this.
Why is purpose vs mission so important?
A clear and defined purpose is equally important for businesses, non-profits and government organisations.
Things we instantly notice about purpose:
- It engages hearts and minds: People want to work in purpose-driven organisations, especially younger generations entering the workforce, bringing fresh talent, ideas, skills and insights into what makes today’s customers tick.
- A purpose is broad and sweeping, describing what drives the people in an organisation, what makes them tick and what impact they want their efforts to have on the world.
- It describes a feeling and acts as a guiding compass. (unlike a mission, which tends to be about problem-solving.)
- The organisational purpose doesn’t (or shouldn’t) have an expiry date.
- You can never wholly achieve a purpose, unlike a mission, which can be achieved.
- Purpose clarifies ‘why’ an organisation exists and gives employees a sense of fulfilment through contributing to a cause bigger than themselves.
- It provides a means to describe why you exist; see this great example for the Disney Corporation as described in the Harvard Business Review.
What makes your organisation tick?
Purpose can initially seem a little ‘fluffy’ and touchy-feely; perhaps something the marketing team might come up with for a campaign! But there is a far stronger and undeniable financial link. Why? Because all stakeholders in a modern organisation want to know why it exists. Is it there to help society or to make money? What are its values? Stakeholders consider these fundamentals more important than yesterday’s tired mission statements describing how a company would turn a profit or keep shareholders happy.
A recent study of 500,000 US company workers found that:
- High-purpose organisations were characterised by high worker camaraderie and/or high clarity from management.
- Organisations with both business purpose and clarity invariably had a better stock market performance.
- Where mid-level employees, in particular, felt engaged with their organisation’s purpose and were clear on how their performance would support this path, there was a clear correlation with financial results.
Consider, too, that an organisation with a strong purpose is likely to have a strong and meaningful brand. These are the organisations that great talent wants to work for. These are the organisations that suppliers want to partner with. And, of course, they are the brands that customers want to buy from.
Recognising the deal breaker
Organisations need a purpose and a vision. Some business thinkers believe it isn’t essential to have a defined vision for an organisation. However, evidence points to the contrary.
At Intrafocus, we have years of experience in strategic consultancy, and our expert teams see this in action time and time again. We can see the need to question purpose vs mission. However, organisations with a defined vision and purpose travel with intent towards their goal. They know what they are doing and hire the best people. They have a great culture.
Why? Because they are clear and focused on why they are there and what they are working towards. The vision and purpose are real and drive every effort and stimulate excitement, motivation and productivity. After all, if you don’t know why you are there and for what purpose, how can you truly deliver?
Putting theory into practice
- Start with your purpose to set your direction.
- Once you have defined your purpose, you can work out the ‘how’ and ‘whats’ of achieving it by defining a set of strategic objectives. Your purpose will provide a foundation and guiding direction. Your strategic objectives will help you to pinpoint the destination and outcomes.
- Once these are in place, you will have the foundation to develop your objectives, targets and measures as you move into a planning phase.
Feeling daunted about where to start? Rather than feel overwhelmed, commit to starting the process and take it one step at a time. Our team of strategy consultants at Intrafocus can help you too. We work with organisations of all sizes and across all industries to help them define their purpose and to take their strategy forward. Contact our team for a no-obligation chat about your organisation and your needs; we will be delighted to help.
Further resources
To learn more about this topic, look at Step 1 of the Intrafocus Academy Strategic Planning Guide.
