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RSSPutting aside personal concerns about the economy, I believe we're entering an important period of business cleansing and rebalancing. There's too much clutter, waste and distrust. Now, more than ever, it's important to focus on fundamentals, especially deeper purpose. What is your business existence really all about? Value and meaning are not only longed for -- they're now necessary to compete and win in the marketplace.
In a recent blog post at Harvard Business Review, Umair Haque, a strategist at the Havas Media Lab, underscored this mandate for businesses in the 21st century. Appropriately citing lessons from Barack Obama's presidential campaign, Haque began by noting the need to minimize strategy: "Obama's campaign dispensed almost entirely with strategy in its most naïve sense: strategy as gamesmanship or positioning. They didn't waste resources trying to dominate the news cycle, game the system, strong-arm the party, or out-triangulate competitors' positions. Rather, Obama's campaign took a scalpel to strategy - because they realized that strategy, too often, kills a deeply-lived sense of purpose, destroys credibility, and corrupts meaning."
Then Haque's emphasis on maximizing purpose: "Change the game? That's 20th century thinking at its finest - and narrowest. The 21st century is about changing the world. What does 'yes we can' really mean? Obama's goal wasn't simply to win an election, garner votes, or run a great campaign. It was larger and more urgent: to change the world...And to do that, you must strive to change the world radically for the better - and always believe that yes, you can. You must maximize, stretch, and utterly explode your sense of purpose."
I don't believe we're entering a post-strategic era, or that strategy is the opposite of purpose. However, far too many business leaders have lost sense of what their purpose is. They're ships without a compass that points anywhere beyond profit. Their crewmembers typically can't articulate what they're doing, nor why others should join. It's especially evident amidst the largest companies, many of which have become giant, self-absorbed and calculating machines. Think about the U.S. auto, finance and airline industries. Consider the advertising industry!
The good news is that purpose increasingly represents fundamental opportunity and advantage. Having purpose means knowing one's self, as well as solving real customer problems. Maximizing purpose makes it easier for relevant customers to affiliate with you and develop preference. Purpose is what makes success possible.
What's your purpose?
RSS FEEDS
We definitely need more purpose as you define it, but if we take the time to understand and be committed to it, then we actually need more strategy as well. Strategy is simply the roadmap that helps us get from where we are today to that ultimate purpose or vision that we want to achieve.
Purpose must come first, and serve as the driving force to get us to a better place. And getting clarity on our purpose is no easy task, but if we are lucky enough to find that clarity, we can achieve it through a well created and executed strategy.
Keep the good stuff coming Max! Best, Rob
The root of what you talk about goes to the lack of proper planning. Know your overriding mission/reason for being. Then, for campaigns or long-term vision, set objectives that you can measure and gauge. All strategies should point to and support those objectives.
Still, without proper communication (internally, mostly) of that planning, the best plans have trouble in implementation.
I think your column and Mr. Haque's post should be pin-up material in a lot of offices. Take care, -Mike
I recently saw a young woman on a reality show who stated that, in real life, she was a really good salesperson and tricked her customers into buying from her all the time. I thought to myself, "If she worked for me, I'd fire her after hearing that."
Smart businesses who partner with their customers are able to maintain profitable relationships over time, reaping greater benefits for the company and, hopefully, for the customer as well.
Best regards, David Peterson Harvey Managing Director thehiddenart.com
Your ideas are so far above the thinking of marketers people involved in small- to mid-size search marketing business scope. Why aren't you working for RAND or Accenture, KPMG?
David Shor
Great post. My purpose in life (since you asked) is to be an uplifting presence. I want the people I come in contact with to feel their lives are even a tiny bit better in some way for having known me.
What's yours?
Hugh