Over the past 10 years or so, “purpose” has become something of an organizational watchword. It’s everywhere—not least in the mission statements and brand identities of most major corporations. And in this era of stakeholder capitalism and pandemic soul-searching, purpose has evolved into a leadership imperative, a signal to those demanding action that the company can do business with this business, because it shares some of their own values, and is doing the right thing in certain areas.
The problem is that while there’s plenty of smoke wafting around, it’s rarely matched by a proportionate amount of fire. It could be said that, in the main, purpose lacks… purpose. Granted, it takes an enormous amount of sustained focus to answer (and keep answering) the question, “Why are we here?” Which partly explains the existence of the purpose gap—that is, the difference between what organizations say, and how stakeholders believe they act.
Authors: Abby Klanecky, Alex Liu, Bob Willen, Matt Lubelczyk
Source: Kearney
Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior
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