A river with no water in it will eventually dry up and become what’s known as a dry bed. It doesn’t matter how beautiful it might look when there’s water flowing through it, when the river isn’t hydrated, that riverbed has little value or purpose to anything or anyone around it. A company culture without purpose and meaning will do the same thing; over time it will dry up and become useless, leading to ineffective employees, disengaged customers and overall lack of profitability.
People need a reason, or a purpose, for doing what they do. It’s the water that keeps their river moving and alive. Without it, it’s just a dry bed of sand and rocks. The same applies to company culture. People need a reason for coming in every day and working hard. They need a purpose behind the work they do and the company they represent. That doesn’t mean your company needs to have altruistic purposes like saving the environment or ending world hunger in order to keep its culture running smoothly.
The first step in defining your company’s purpose is to answer these three questions. What do you want this company to be? Why do you want this company? Who needs this company? Once you’ve answered those questions, it’s time to start the journey of translating them into a concise, meaningful statement. Write down as many answers as possible, even if they’re not perfect yet. Defining what you are trying to achieve with your company and who you’re trying to help can create an all-encompassing sense of unity among employees, customers and other stakeholders.
If you want your company culture to be thriving, it’s important that your employees are motivated. Motivation comes from a deep sense of purpose. You can’t motivate someone who doesn’t understand the reason they’re doing what they do. When each person knows the company’s purpose, their sense of ownership and pride in their work will grow exponentially. Employees need to know how their role fits into the company’s mission so they can act accordingly. In this way, everyone plays an active part in helping the company reach its goal and maintain its success.
A company culture is built from the ground up. You cannot expect a thriving culture if you do not have employees who are passionate about what they are building. At your company, you should be able to see that everyone has a purpose for why they work there and what they hope to achieve in their job. When this happens, your company will flourish.
Here are 4 Ways to Reclaim Purpose in the workplace
Apparently Gartner believes Purpose is Essential in the Workplace. check out the article HERE