Purpose Gives Direction
Purpose gives direction to a company, and if you want to succeed you must define your purpose. Regardless, of the size and the scope of the company, the project, the charity, the team, or whatever, you have to have a simple to understand defined purpose. Purpose will be the guiding light when you sit down and start to contemplate strategy.
To define purpose, you have to ask questions. What do we want to be? Why do we want to be this? What are we going to do? How are we going to do it? What are we going to accomplish? Why are we going to accomplish this? What value are we going bring to the situation? How are we going to bring the value to the situation? Will customers pay for this value? Do customers want this value? Is there a need? What will set us apart from everyone else in this space? Questions will help determine what our purpose is. The more questions you ask the better your answer will be.
So many start-ups get started out of the gate, without ever defining their purpose and consequently, spend too much time and money floundering around, not being focused. If you have a well defined purpose statement, you will stay focused, and true to your vision.
Just as a mariner is not going to leave the dock at night without a compass or a GPS today, you cannot start a company or a project without your compass. Your compass is your Purpose Statement. Your purpose statement needs to be short and sweet and to the point. Everyone you meet and everyone involved needs to know it, believe it, and understand it. Everyone involved needs to know exactly what the purpose is.
Once you have a well define, to the point purpose statement, then you are ready to go to the next the step. The next step can become more flowery if you want with your Mission Statement, your Vision, and ultimately your strategic plan.
The most critical component in coming up with your purpose is to add value. This is easy to say and may seem so logical, but you have to really look for the value that you bring. The value as determined by the customer. You may have to involve a little research to make sure your purpose is value added, but the only way to success is to add value. Just because you think you are adding value does not mean that the end user, the customer, or the constituent thinks you are adding value.
Once you have defined a true value added purpose for your endeavor, you company, your life, there is little chance of failure if you stay true to your purpose. Purpose is the first step in accomplishing anything, and if you take the time do this step first you are well on your way to succeeding in whatever your do. Make sure you leave the dock with your purpose statement, your compass., and you will stay on course to success.
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