purpose beyond profit
Does your organisation integrate profit with purpose? Sales with service? and money with meaning? If yes, your organisation must be a “conscious organisation”.
Let’s dig deep into this, and see if, at the end of this article, you still have the same opinion regarding it.
We are reaching the end of the year. Time to make the balance of what was your organisations’ performance during the years. What goals were reached, which KPIs were not accomplished, etc…,
When making this balance, are you looking more for the profit that you made? Do you take into consideration, on the same scale, your employees, customers, and suppliers' wellbeing?
The majority of organisations have as their purpose, to make a profit.
We still teach in our economy classes the principle that organisations must exist to “maximize their profit”. Still today, the existing legislation envisages the sole objective of doing businesses the sharing out of profits and not, for example, the creation of “real-value” for all stakeholders (employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders, communities), including the planet.
But in times where we are struggling to emerge from a crisis, that is above all, a crisis of values, and where we are called to acquire a new level of consciousness of the true meaning of the economy, having the maximisation of profit as the only value of an organisation, is a “dead-on”.
Why?
Because, when profit becomes the only value, organisations cut corners, do not take care of their customers, suppliers, or employees, and sacrifice the goodwill and service to maximize the profit, the medium-term result is that customers desert the organisation, good employees leave and profits go down, as feedback starts to affect sales.
So, organisations are called for a win-win model, which is a result of a very profound reflection on what means to do business which, itself, generates value in the medium-long term.
This “win-win model” is, according to the Conscious Capitalism Movement, founded by Raj Sisoda, based on the fact that the organisation great deal is its meaning and purpose, reflected on the "most conscious and responsible reformulation of the corporate mission”, according to one or more of the grand ideals that have always sparked the flame in the heart of every man: the True, the Beautiful and the Good.
An organisation that has made a success of True is Google, since its mission is "to organise information worldwide and make it universally accessible and useful".
An example of a strong sense of awareness applied to their purpose can be found in Apple that has exemplified its interpretation of the concept of Beautiful in a technological object and in Brunello Cucinelli, who has defined his business as a humanistic company, a guardian of culture and beauty, in its search for a goal loftier than profit.
“I believe in capitalism. I need to make a profit, but I would like to do it with ethics, dignity, morals. It’s my moral”.
Brunello Cucinelli
Bunello Cucinelli Company Founder & CEO
Your organisation can pursue this path by being willing to explore your own authentically and deeply.
This, on the one hand, it may appear utopian, in the other, it provides space for the exploration of the meaning that often becomes a key element of their standing out from your competitors.
The major challenge to this is the fact that organisations must look up to have a valuable purpose, but also be financially sustainable and profitable.
On the other hand, highly purposeful organisations that do not pay attention to profits may have excellent customer service, be highly value-driven, and have very happy collaborators and suppliers. Their prices may be artificially low or give many things for free. This can lead to the inability to pay the happy workforce and to service its customer base, having the same sort of trouble as if they paid too much attention to profit.
To be able to have a “holistic” vision that is focused on purpose, delights customers, takes care of the employees, and ensures a lot of money, it requires taking the long view, leaving aside the willingness to have a short-term profit for the long-term gain.
In essence, this means staying true to purpose and values, even if it means losing out on money in the present.
As a “conscious organisation,” you will achieve your purpose through profit.
This means your purpose will be the reason to grow, to improve, and to build the strongest organisation possible.
A powerful purpose aligns individual passion and corporate mission to impact the community.
A great purpose wins the hearts and minds of a broad range of stakeholders creating an expanded pool of resources an organisation can leverage.
This requires a long-term view and trust that the wider market also has a purpose besides providing money.
Are you willing to do that?
Continue to follow us on AMARNA Vida’s LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/amarnavida/ where we will continue to give you tips to become a more conscious organisation. Also, visit us at our website www.amarnavida.co
Be healthy, happy, and sustainable.
Founder and Executive Director
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