Your why

How do I find my purpose in life?

Part of finding your purpose is by knowing what role you can play in changing the world.

Some of it may be the fundamentals of your belief system, some of your journey in life.   What you believe and what you want to manifest in the world.

It is essential to be realistic and set priorities, and ask yourself what you want people to say about you as they look back on your life.

One exercise is to write your eulogy and highlight your virtues.

Then determine which values are important and what is not negotiable.

How to find purpose in business?

Finding the purpose in business is very similar.

People want to engage with brands and people that are aligned to their purpose.

Defining a robust and shared purpose for your organisation is vital for business success, and it needs to be more than just building profit.

Business leaders need to have a clear vision for the future and inspire others.

Create a reason for being and to exist, a clear purpose.

Having a strong sense of purpose can define the culture you want in your organisation and guide your decisions.

Purpose sets your compass, a guiding light that gives employees a clear sense of how they should do things every day.

The purpose will make the work more meaningful and fulfil the human need to contribute to something bigger than self.

Some of the questions to ask while determining your business purpose are:

• Why did you create your organisation?
• What inspired your business idea?
• What problem is your organisation trying to solve?

Simon Sinek, in his 2009 TEDx Talk, talks about the three layers to your business story, ‘The Golden Circle:

1. The What
2. The How, and
3. In the centre – The Why

All organisations know what they do in the products they sell or the services they offer. This is also articulated as the organisation’s Mission statement.

Only some organisations have a clear way of how they do it.  The values set them apart from their competition, but few organisations know why they do what they do.

This is because setting a purpose is not about making money. It’s about a belief and the reason why the organisation exists.

He talks about human behaviour and suggests that we talk to the part of the brain that controls feelings and behaviours by communicating from the inside out.

This creates loyalty and sells to people that believe what you believe.  The same goes for your employees. They will excel if they believe what you believe.

Having the best minds and most technical people who communicate from the outside in, you will have all the statistics and facts but not the emotion.

People do not buy what you do; they buy why you do it…. Simon Sinek

Organisations must have a clear picture of where they want to head and a future position when they succeed.  This can be articulated as the organisation’s Vision.

If everyone in the organisation is aligned to the purpose, it acts as a guiding light and the filter for setting business strategy.

You define your purpose by determining what is important to you and the organisation, and you must make it about the people you want to serve.  This cannot be about money.

Then determine the values on how you want to do it.

What are some of the factors to finding your purpose in business?

1. Involve your team

• It is vital that if you are working on your purpose after the business has already been established to involve your team and organise a planning meeting to ask the key questions about your business:

1. Why do we exist?
2. What do we do?
3. What are we great at?
4. Why do we stand out?
5. What do people say about us?

• Make sure that you are not closed-minded, listen to all the perspectives, and be realistic about your organisation. Sometimes the most valuable insight comes from the people in the front line serving your customers.

2. Get some external perspectives – this will bring a fresh outlook and objective feedback. Organisations find it helpful to use a consultant to help facilitate the day
3. Make sure the message is in line and resonates with your customers. Make it customer-centric.
4. Be inspirational and aspirational. These words will become your compass and will guide your decisions in the organisation
5. Bring people on the journey. Roll out the message to the entire organisation and public to bring it to life.  Align it to everything you do by:
   • Once you find it make it stick
   • An organisation’s true purpose is much more than a statement on a wall or website
   • Your internal behaviour and actions need to be aligned
   • Your brand and image must be aligned
   • People need to feel it, touch it and be part of it

What happens once you have found your purpose in business?

Once you have articulated your purpose, it’s time to make it a reality.  Build trust and make sure all your team is truly committed and aligned.

Culture eats strategy for breakfast…Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker says that culture is the secret sauce that keeps employees motivated and clients happy.  A clear purpose should help create clarity, and executing realistic strategies will boost productivity, performance, and bottom-line success will follow.

So, in my opinion, get your purpose right, determine your value system and set the future aspiration for success, but you must develop some realistic strategies and execute them; otherwise, it’s all a waste of time.

It all matters, Purpose, Vision, Mission, Values, strategy and execution. It’s just a matter of ensuring you set the culture first, then the priorities and then act.

So, the key is to take action and never standstill. Business success is about being able to service the customer of today. This keeps evolving, so it’s crucial that you also set a date to review and assess regularly.