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Business Lesson
Purpose and marketing
alone can be dysfunctional
bedfellows. Embracing purpose
in business means going
far deeper than marketing.
Purpose is organisational
and should be at the heart of
your business model. It should
describe the fundament of
what you do: namely, how
you aim to create value in the
world – commercial, societal
and environmental. Purpose
should frame the role of your
organisation in terms which are
ambitious, authentic, and which
matter. This well-conceived
purpose should inspire and
mediate strategy, innovation,
organisation, practices, team
motivation and more.
Finding purpose is about
making sense of how your
business creates shared value
in the world in a way that
people at all levels of your
organisation can understand
– from the apprentice to
the CEO. Businesses with an
authentic, coherent purpose
understood by all are much
more likely to be effective in
the pursuit of their objectives,
from growing market share
to serving the communities in
which they operate.
Nike is a case in point. Their
purpose is to ‘bring inspiration
and innovation to every
athlete in the world’, believing
in a ‘sustainable future – one
where everyone thrives on
a healthy planet and a level
playing field'. Nike’s history
of strategy and operations,
while imperfect, goes a long
way to substantiating their
commitment to that goal.
The brand has a history
of investing in research
and development and
has long been known for
creating elite performance
products. More recently,
their strategy has evolved
to couple sustainability with
performance, identifying
impact as a driver of growth.
Best evidenced in their Flyknit
fabric used in shoes and
now clothing, Nike has been
successful in maintaining
profitable growth, while
dramatically lowering its
environmental impact. Flyknit
has become a billion-dollar
product category.
The case of Kendall
Jenner and Pepsi highlights
the conflicting interests that
companies must navigate
when making sense of why
they exist. Businesses looking
for purpose in a marketing
handbook will quickly be
found out. Corporations all
over the world are routinely
misappropriating purpose,
putting their reputation at
serious risk, costing themselves
a significant amount of
monetary and reputational
value in the process. Finding a
raison d’être is about thinking
long and hard about the
value your activities create for
both your shareholders and
society at large. Companies
that fail to align their purpose
with their business strategy
aren’t fooling anyone.
James Wallis is Director of
Strategy at GoodBrand
“Finding purpose
is about making
sense of how
your business
creates shared
value in the
world in a way
that people at
all levels of your
organisation
can understand”
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Flight Time
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SEPTEMBER 2018