Purpose and The Fear of Extinction

picture source: stock | canva | Nicole Bastien

Over the last weeks, I got involved in some interesting and mind-moving discussions about Purpose. Some exchanges took place on LinkedIn. Others found me in my mentoring group or private life. Unisono was about the (drum roll please) purpose of Purpose (knee slapper, I know). This article shares some of my reflections. Heads up and trigger alert: it won’t be an easy read for some of you.

Let’s say there is barely an organization (well, their managers) in our industrialized world which hasn’t taken a deeper dive into their company’s Purpose over the last two decades. The idea of Purpose has been mentioned in many ways for almost a century. However, it took off when Simon Sinek published his book Start With Why 2007 and when EY published their Global Leadership Forecast (2018) which shows that Purposal Organizations (as they call it) reach 42 % better financial results than the average.

Start With Why is Simon Sinek’s conclusion on secret recipes for the success of famous and rich corporations. The formula he found is simple: purpose ➡️ vision ➡️ different products/services ➡️ success, all wrapped up in his Golden Circle. What he didn’t add to the formula was the part about money. And he didn’t need to. Those conclusions were made by others: more success means more money. Purpose of this reading is solely a means for a better economic approach. So the question about Why are we in business? (Purpose) mutated as a synonym for What do we need to do to make more money?

Here is my answer to it: Seeing Purpose as a means to fill your bank account will lead you to a dead end. Because 1) there is a limitation of financial growth and 2) you simply missed the point. The entire design and meaning of Purpose carry intention, clarity, transparency, commitment, and accountability within. Finding Purpose requires asking the real big questions. It leads to very uncomfortable conversations and sometimes even revelations within an organization. This is how it goes with the real stuff in life: it gets messy before it gets better. Purpose is about a way bigger matter than most managers can anticipate. How many of your organization’s board members do their job out of pure joy and because they found that being a C-leader is their Purpose and the best service they can provide? Just stop reading here for a moment for reflection.

Asking about Purpose could lead to Purposelessness

Purpose carries one possibility we usually do not dare to discuss in our organizations or on social media: the possibility of Purposelessness. Even just being in business in order to make a shit load of money would be a Purpose. Maybe not a very knightly one, but at least it would be an honest admission. However, Purposelessness means not existing even for that.

Purposelessness means being of no relevance and -in all consequences- not playing a role at all and not being seen. What would it mean for an organization to not be seen? There are many fears contained in this, but one strikes me as being the nastier one: the fear of dying without anyone noticing and, therefore, not remembering. The business would just vanish from the tapestry of the economy. Many organizations shared this destiny before. The fear of vanishing without being noticed rests deep in our entire collective and individual unconsciousness and therefore is woven into our organizations through us humans, too. Organizations are made by humans and show similar patterns, fears, etc. We must never forget that.

Purpose carries the fear of extinction

So the question about Purpose at its core is about the relevance of our organization’s existence and carries the fear of extinction by not having any answer for it. As we saw creating Purpose out of fear (not being extinct) is one way. There is another one to it, though. We can create Purpose out of love by bringing our organization’s potential into this world. There is no space between fear and love.

The true power of asking about Purpose is that it is an invitation to grow and evolve in meaning and making sense; not only for one person’s benefit but for the whole. Products and services are just the outer expressions of this Purpose under the existing conditions, honoring time, place, and people. You never can give Purpose to people. You can only find your own (or organization’s) and express it. People will feel attracted to it or not. Customers will feel attracted to it or not. Employees will feel attracted to it or not.

So, does it even make sense to ask this question about Purpose and to try and find an answer when Purpose is not about making more money and can not even give a guarantee of being more successful? Of course, it makes sense! It always did — in its genuine meaning of Why Are We In Business? The answer to this can only be in creating value that stands the test of time. This thought is not new. Often quoted Peter Drucker already emphasized this back in 1954 that the Purpose of an organization has to be in common goods. With a materialistic mindset and mechanistic approach, the answer will look different than from someone who understands an organization as a living system, woven in and interacting with its environment. Those organizations and their people understand that this organization still has to make money but it is no longer the only goal. Money (in their cases) became the resource to fuel their higher Purpose of being of the greatest service to the whole society.

However, if there is a glimmer of hope that you might have to offer a bigger vision for your services or products than just making money, please go and foster conditions to evolve those services in the context of bringing the greatest service to the whole. This is how we ensure the evolution of our organizations — and by the way ourselves, too. Yes, this job is not possible for one person only. It needs the contribution of many if not even all. Sometimes also in ways of cooperating with each other, we wouldn’t have taken into consideration before. And yes, it will lead you to a different way of thinking, feeling, working, and communicating. We are drifting toward an economy where values of equality, partnership, transparency, truth, clarity, love, devotion in collaboration, etc. are not on the billboards of corporate communication any longer but a living reality. The first frontiers are Regenerative Organizations and their leaders. But this is something to be told in a different article.

Now it is your turn: I am very curious to read your reactions to my reflections. Why are you in business?

Love, beauty, and joy
Nicole Bastien

Source of Inspiration: My biggest thanks to Richards Rudd, who inspired me many times by reading his Gene Keys and Claudia Schwab, my mentor, who always puts the finger on what needs attention and care.