Within People - A Guide to Finding Purpose

Within People A Guide to Finding Purpose

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How do you align your business to an authentic purpose?

We help leaders around the world connect to their purpose, focus their business and deliver growth.

This booklet was designed for leaders who want to find purpose but don’t know how to get started. And to help guide our clients in articulating their purpose in the most powerful way.

Purpose

Our reason for existing - the “why” It reflects our passion And is the role we play in our vision What it should be: Authentic Simple and memorable It's who you are already

What it isn't: A goal or something to move towards A catchy, punchy tagline

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A Framework for Purpose

How Our Values Describes our unique way of doing things

Why Our Purpose The north star of the brand

What Our Proposition Describes the offer

The behaviours of our culture. A way of connecting to our customers and consumers.

The core expression of the business. Drives vision of commercial success and culture.

Defines our space to own in the landscape. Understanding of the value created by the business.

What

How

Why

Simon Sinek's Golden Circles provide a simple framework to align your purpose and values to the products & services your business offers.

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Isn’t the purpose of business to make money?

No. Profit is an outcome of a business that is run well. It is not the source of why your business exists. “Any successful CEO will confirm that you can’t finance a business just with money; you also have to finance it with a passionate vision, love of purpose, faith in people, a willingness to serve, and a desire to make a difference. Money alone cannot win success. Money is a reward for playing the game well; it is not the game.”

- Robert Holden PhD

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Finding Purpose Ten principles to guide you

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Principle #1 Looking for purpose

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Purpose is within you

It is your intention and belief - not an objective or a goal

Purpose isn't about finding a new space to own or a brand positioning.

It's who you have always been. It's something to reconnect to, not to move towards.

Principle #2 Looking for purpose

Purpose is powered by the past

It can be found in the original authentic intention of why the business was started. It just might have gotten lost over time

You start a business to solve a problem. That solution becomes a product or service, and soon you talk more about what you do than why you do it.

Go back to the start to find out why.

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Principle #3 Looking for purpose

Your purpose never changes

It is the core of your brand

Your products and services might change over time, but your purpose always stays the same.

It is the north star that guides your business and your people - so it needs to be clear to be powerful.

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Principle #4 Looking for purpose

It is aligned to your vision

Purpose is the role we play in the vision of where our business is going and the world around us

A vision is a rich picture of our imagined future. Our purpose guides us towards the dream. But it isn't a strategy or a plan - it's the passion that keeps us motivated.

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Principle #5 Looking for purpose

We believe in it and it inspires us

Leaders use the purpose every day to inspire their teams to grow. It is a filter to making the important decisions

We get meaning from acting on our intentions. Through the ups and downs of running a business, our purpose is always there to help us find the right opportunities and make authentic choices.

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Case Study: Independents United

Independents United are a consultancy that help transform businesses by making revolutions happen.

Frank Lampen & Shilen Patel founded their company on doing things differently to solve creative problems. They see how their own business is run as being essential to living their purpose. One proof of this is operating a revolutionary flat business structure where everyone is an owner.

Visit www.iu-hq.com to find out more.

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Principle #6 Expressing purpose

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Your purpose is memorable

It is simple, free of jargon, rolls off the tongue, and probably less than ten words

It might even feel a bit generic.

You don't need a copywriter to make it punchy - it isn't a brand strapline or slogan.

Principle #7 Expressing purpose

Purpose isn’t a goal It isn't a a target so never has a number in it. And it isn't about being the best or being number one

Purpose drives our goals, so it cannot be a goal itself. It has no deadline or shipping date because it's why you do what you do every day.

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Principle #8 Expressing purpose

It must pass the Goldilocks test

It is not too big ("change the world", "make things better") and not too small or detailed that it describes your product & service

“Change” is part of every business so it has no place in your purpose. If you do use this word it must be qualified - change for what reason? And saying "positive change" isn't good enough (who sets out to create "negative change", apart from Darth Vader?)

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Principle #9 Expressing purpose

It does not change for your audience

Your purpose will inspire others when it is authentic to you

Your purpose should not be rewritten to attract funding or investment, or for different customer segments. You have one purpose.

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Principle #10 Expressing purpose

Your purpose must reflect where you are putting most of your energy

There should be one word in your purpose statement that really sums up the context for your business

This word answers the question of the problem you are solving, and what would be missing if you didn't exist.

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Case Study: UNESCO

For 70 years Unesco has been tackling the challenge of sustainable development through a network of places around the world that aim to reconnect people and nature.

Yet this purposeful organisation was lacking a sense of identity around their programme that would be common and authentic, no matter where they were in the world. Finding purpose has meant listening to stakeholders and removing the complexity to get back to what was at their core.

Check out the Unesco Brand & Story Toolkit on Slideshare

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The Purpose Principles

Is your purpose authentic to you?

Does it reflect the original intention of the business?

Will your purpose guide the brand forever?

Does it align and guide your vision?

Do you believe in it wholeheartedly?

Is your purpose memorable?

Is it free of targets and numbers?

Can it pass the Goldilocks test?

Is your purpose relevant to any audience?

Does it reflect where you put most of your energy?

Use this checklist to help you find purpose - you should answer YES to every question!

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Visit us to find out more: www.withinpeople.com

Within People is an international partnership that helps people to find their purpose and grow