Many companies today are finding great success by clearly stating a purpose for what they do and aligning their operations with those ideals. While having a stated purpose and core values can be powerful, business leader Rick Inatome says that purpose alone doesn’t always drive optimal outcomes.
Strong processes are also needed to facilitate continuous improvement in organizations. That’s why it’s essential that you create process-based (as well as purpose-driven) organizations.
Below are some insights on how to build and maintain one.
State Your Purpose and How You Will Achieve It
Stating your “why” is the first step in creating a purpose-driven organization. It is the tenet that will drive everything that you and your employees do on a day-to-day basis. Having it in written form and posted throughout the workplace will help remind employees why they’re doing what they’re doing.
To be successful as a purpose-driven organization, though, you need to outline the steps for how you will achieve that purpose. Under this umbrella are creating strategies surrounding change management -- if the purpose is something new for an established organization -- and having a roadmap that outlines specific ways in which you’ll manage the implementation of the purpose.
Reinforce the Purpose
It’s essential to always have the organization’s purpose at the center of everything you do. In this regard, all plans, goals, and strategies you create should refer back to the stated purpose.
One way to integrate this into a process is to establish regular purpose reviews or to at least incorporate a review of the purpose in employee performance reviews. This will help to reinforce the importance of the organization’s purpose while also making it formulaic.
In other words, this process will ensure that all members of your organization have the purpose top of mind and that it’s being integrated into everything they do. If they’re being measured based upon their success at achieving the purpose, then they’re more likely to work toward it.
Create a Process Team
If you want to create a purpose-driven organization based on processes, it might be a good idea to create a team that’s dedicated to managing those processes. This could be your “process team,” a group of individuals in your company who will be accountable to your core processes.
This team will be responsible for ensuring that all of the processes are communicated to, understood, and executed properly by all employees. The individuals responsible for overseeing all the processes will also need to analyze and critique the processes from the aspect of whether the organization is sticking to its purpose.
By carving out a niche in your organization like this, you’ll be ensuring that the purpose is never missed in any process.
Educate Employees
Rick Inatome says that one of the most important aspects of creating a process-based purpose organization is educating employees on the importance of the purpose and how the processes help the company achieve it.
You need to not dictate to them but get buy-in from them. You may face some challenges in this at first, but over time, the goal is to get every member of your organization enthusiastic about what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.
About Rick Inatome
Rick Inatome is a transformative business leader and mentor, entrepreneur, and investor whose legacy includes being one of the architects of the digital age. Working with the founders of companies such as Apple and Microsoft in the computer industry’s early days, he established a disruptive technology distribution channel that introduced the personal computer first to the general public and then to corporate America. It grew into a NYSE Fortune 500 company.