The Power of Purpose – Part 4

I am blessed to be able to see deep inside organizations and the people that have the responsibility to lead those businesses.  Sometimes I see amazing cultures that are filled with incredibly engaged team members and equally engaged customers. Sometimes I see the opposite. What is the difference?

When Leadership is in ‘Crisis’ Mode

In organizations that I see that are in ‘Crisis Mode’ (and sometimes, every day is crisis mode), leaders are seemingly running around every day like their hair is on fire. Everything seems to be an emergency. Ranging from critical staff quitting, to quotes not getting done on time, or partners and vendors not showing up, unhappy customers, invoices that are wrong, accounts receivables that are long overdue and sometimes, all of it at once.

Sure, Organization Design experts might find that the leaders and the business do not have structure and processes that are replicable, and employees do not have clarity around direction, roles and responsibilities, expectations and success measures. And sometimes that is true. In other words, ‘Systems’ that takes the guess work out operations. However, I have seen amazing cultures, engaged customers, industry high profitability and high growth from organizations that have ‘Systems’ issues as well.

Again, What’s the Difference?

Amazing cultures and the rockstar performance of their businesses all have crystal clear around their ‘Purpose’.  Everyone in the business knows what the organization’s ‘Why’ or purpose is.  They know why customer buy from them versus the competition.  They use the company’s purpose or ‘Why’ to aid in making decisions from everything to the partners and vendors they work with to product or service roadmaps.  Every leader and every department within the business works towards a single purpose versus working for their own department in a silo that does not care about anyone else in the business.

Great Little Box Company

Vancouver (Canada) based Great Little Box Company was recognized in 2017 for having the best culture.  OK folks, they make cardboard boxes.  They don’t build rockets or develop life saving apps.  They make boxes.  But here’s the thing, I have been in the offices of the Great Little Box Company over 50 times and here is what I saw each and every time I was there:

1. They have a clear Purpose. Yes, they know what they do (remember, they make cardboard boxes).  The more important thing is that they know why they do it.  They know that every box that rolls off the line is going to make a difference in the life of another business which in turn makes a difference in the lives of literally thousands of other people
2. Their culture (driven by total alignment of leadership) is one that is clearly multinational (there are the flags of over 42 different countries hanging from the ceiling of the factory floor representing countries that employees came from yet… they operate like one-team working towards a common cause
3. Their culture is a magnet that attracts top talent
4. They have virtually no employee churn
5. They run open book management where high-level financials are openly shared (because leaders trust their people)
6. People are noticeably happier than any other business that I have been exposed to (and that is a lot)
7. Leaders are always very visible and spend time walking around catching people doing things right

When I see the other cultures with their leaders running around with the daily fire burning, there is almost never any focus on purpose.  When I am in those businesses, I see:

1. No one knows what the purpose or ‘Why’ is. When asked, they think it something around profit (profit is an outcome not a purpose)
2. There is never leadership alignment – it is every person for themselves
3. Their culture is famous on websites like glassdoor.com for being a shit-show
4. They are always recruiting for new people because people don’t stay
5. Management does not share information with people well because, people cannot be trusted (their words not mine)
6. The TV show “The Walking Dead” is fashioned off of these businesses
7. Leaders stay in their offices looking busy on email – that way they cannot get blamed for anything

What kind of culture do you want to have…

Read The Power of Purpose – Part 1

Read The Power of Purpose – Part 2

Read The Power of Purpose – Part 3

Robert Murray is a Vancouver, BC based Business Strategy Consultant, #1 Best Selling Author, International Keynote Speaker, and TEC Top Speaker of the Year for 2018. For further advice, insight and inspiration on how to unlock your inner leader, connect with Robert on LinkedIn.

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