Five years ago I left my corporate job to start a company. A few months in, I found myself painting my half bath wondering what went wrong. This was when I uncovered a new wave of business leaders who believed they could make money and change the world.
Today, I’m sharing a little bit about my journey starting a business that lacked focus and ultimately finding my purpose helping companies discover theirs. I’m also going to talk about the business case for corporate purpose and why every business should have a purpose greater than profit.
In 2016, I left my corporate job to start a business. I had watched other people before me make what appeared to be a seamless transition from corporate exec to entrepreneur and figured I could too.
However, just a few months in, I found myself painting the walls of my half bath unsure what to do next. I wasn’t clear on what I offered or who needed it. My business lacked focus. And, it was bad. I created a sales deck early on and later went back to look and I had 26 different offerings. Yes, 26. I think my approach was to cast the widest net I could and see what I could catch.
The worst part was that as a veteran marketer, who has worked with global brands, promoted national events and written corporate messaging for dozens of companies, I could see the mistakes I was making. It was like one of those moments where you see that glass falling but you can’t reach it in time.
It was at this point, I hit pause and got to work. I dug deep into my experiences and beliefs and started to explore what projects I loved doing and what made me miserable. I also carved out to time to explore the trends that were shaping business today. Something we rarely have time to do when we’re jumping from meeting to meeting.
All of this work led me to a couple key beliefs that I still carry with me today.…first, successful companies were those who knew their stories. Throughout my career, I have been in roles where I worked closely with CEOs and business leaders. In that time, I realized the most successful CEOs were those who had a clear vision. They were focused, charismatic and they knew where the business was going. That clarity gave people a sense of belonging. It helped people not only see the bigger picture but where they fit into the picture.
The second thing I noticed was that the market was shifting. In the retail space, companies like TOMS Shoes and Warby Parker were making headlines with their buy one, give one models and outerwear brands, like Patagonia and REI, were reclaiming the outdoors.
There was clearly a wave of new leaders, who believed that a brand could do exceptional sales while also committing to delivering positive impact. I started exploring this new category of social enterprise and not-only-for-profit companies and I noticed some similar qualities among their leaders. They were clear about their vision, cared about strong relationships and believed that their business could do more than generate profits.
Just as I was getting clear about the beliefs that would drive my business, an article landed in my inbox. I don’t actually remember the title, but it cited a study about the value of brand purpose. I kept digging and found a white paper by Harvard Business Review with Ernst and Young about the benefits of knowing your corporate purpose. This was the full aha moment. I realized Corporate purpose was about far more than successful leadership traits and clear messaging. Committing to a purpose greater than profit was becoming foundational and here was the business case.
First, it was clear that expectations we place on brands have changed:
Second, the way we perceive companies has also changed:
But, the most compelling shift I discovered is that purposeful businesses outperform their peers. Research shows companies with a clear purpose make more money and provide a higher rate of return on investment (The Return on Purpose, Fortuna Advisors). This is because purposeful businesses are better able to attract and retain top talent, they’re more appealing to social and environmentally-conscious consumers (Purpose and Performance, Alignd on Purpose), they’re more innovate, more diverse and better able to adapt to change (The Business Case for Purpose, E&Y).
Once I discovered that there was a real business case for purposeful business, I began to notice other important shifts. In 2019, the Business Roundtable release their statement on the purpose of a business, shifting our mindset from shareholder-primacy to stakeholder value (The Purpose Movement, Alignd on Purpose). The World Economic Forum released The Universal Purpose of a Company in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Davos Manifesto 2020, World Economic Forum)and global leaders like BlackRock’s Larry Fink were asking businesses to step up on social and environmental impact and discussing the relationship between purpose and profit (Larry Fink CEO Letter 2021, BlackRock).
I started this podcast because I’ve spent the last four years exploring what it means to build and grow a business with a clear purpose. I believe every business should have a purpose greater than profit and want to start a conversation about a different way of doing business. I’m going to dig into the studies and trends that are reshaping the current business landscape, talk with CEOs and business leaders who are proving you can make money and make an impact. But most importantly, I’m going to share tips and best practices you can use right now to make key changes in your business.
I hope you join me on this journey to help more leaders build a business for good.
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You can find out more about The Corporate Purpose Podcast by visiting www.thecorporatepurposepodcast.com. You can also follow the show on Instagram at @thecorporatepurposepodcast or find your host Karen Bailey on Twitter at @klbailey.
If you’d like to learn more about building a business with a clear purpose or to receive our newsletter, check out Alignd on Purpose. We are a consulting firm dedicated to helping companies define their purpose align their business around it.
Purpose Greater Than Profit is a registered Trademark of Karen Bailey Communications LLC
