Bryan recently asked me about our company’s purpose statement. Unfortunately, "Peace of Mind" is a tagline, not a purpose statement.
The formula for a purpose statement is the values. These values are in the fine print, not necessarily on the marketing brochure.
We are expanding our product offering to our clients. Over the past three years, we have built new offline services and online products to be launched in 2023. This transition is the time to fine-tune our purpose statement and make it bold.
An organization’s purpose statement should be clear and require no explanation. Communicating the link between our services and McKinney’s Purpose is critical and yet complex. Today, we will tackle this challenge head-on.
An organization’s purpose is clear through concise communication, and its existence is evident. The organization’s goal should fit like a glove.
An organization’s purpose is the motivation for establishment. This purpose is usually boiled down to a couple of sentences and is often the business philosophy.
The business philosophy is concerned with the broader meanings of business as a human endeavor, an economic or social phenomenon, or the moral obligations of business to society. Here are a few examples of different companies’ purpose statements.
Ernst & Young defines its Purpose as “To build a better working world.”
General Electric’s newly defined Purpose is “We rise to the challenge of building a world that works.”
And finally, Dupont states, “We find science-enabled, sustainable solutions for our customers, always managing our businesses to protect the environment and preserve the earth’s natural resources for today and future generations.”
These examples from E&Y, General Electric, and Dupont are all excellent examples. The purpose statements clearly and directly overview the company’s core goals and values.
Home Depot and Dell examples are poor purpose statements;
A Purpose Statement clearly defines why the organization exists. It helps to attract and engage like-minded employees and customers who share the same values. From the excellent purpose examples, you can see their values. From the bad examples, their values are unclear, and they have no higher purpose.
Interestingly, former P&G global marketing director Jim Stengel collected data across 50,000 brands. Jim found a direct relationship between a brand’s ability to serve a higher purpose and its financial performance. This direct relationship between a brand's higher purpose and financial performance resulted in three times faster growth.
Your purpose statement does not change over time. The purpose is your reason for being. What are your values? Are they tied to your Purpose? Your vision, strategy, and execution activities should support your purpose.
Our current clients are B2B, and our new product offerings will be for B2C clients. How will this affect our purpose? Or should it? It will not change. Through our performance consulting, we bring peace of mind to our multinational clients and help them reach their potential as trusted advisors.
After working for global athletic companies Reebok, Converse, and Adidas in international positions, I developed a sense of what western multinational company leaders need to succeed in the executive search and leadership consulting areas. I recognized early on the cross-cultural differences and misunderstandings that stood in the way of success.
This Reebok factory had 5,000 employees within the organization and many supplier organizations externally. We produce 1.2 million pairs of athletic footwear per month for global distribution across many different cultures.
This cross-cultural leadership continued with my move to Adidas. I traveled and worked in 35 countries, as the Head of Footwear Product Development Globally for Adidas International. My responsibilities included overseeing product development teams in the USA and Asia.
This leadership trend continues at McKinney Consulting. Our track record lists hundreds of clients from Fortune 500 clients like Exxon Mobile, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, FedEx, Pfizer, Citigroup, PepsiCo, HP, Boeing, AIG, New York Life, Nike, Adidas, Coca-Cola, Netflix, International Paper, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Dyson, etc. and many other successful companies.
From the athletic footwear experiences of developing hundreds of products for worldwide purchase to coaching and consulting with many great clients at McKinney, my mind and approach have been enriched. Our global mindset and innovative project approach keep us open to new possibilities and humble. Working with multinational companies across international borders requires earning their trust. We make that trust daily, project by project.
As you work on your purpose and vision statement, you could receive additional insights and inspiration by reading some great books. Here are a few books that I recommend you consider.
Carol S. Dweck’s book Mindset. “Through clever research studies and engaging writing, Dweck illuminates how our beliefs about our capabilities exert tremendous influence on how we learn and which paths we take in life.” Bill Gates, GatesNotes
The Book of Why by Judea Pearl and Dana MacKenzie could help you discover your Purpose. Judea and Dana discuss the new science of causal inference and how humans understand cause-and-effect relationships.
Think Again, by Adam Grant, is one of my favorites. This bestselling author of Give and Take and Originals examines the critical art of rethinking, learning to question your opinions, and opening other people’s minds, which can position you for excellence at work and wisdom in life.
Anu Agu, former Chair of Thema Ltd., explains this higher meaning. “We survive by breathing, but we can’t say we live to breathe. Likewise, making money is very important for a business to survive, but money alone cannot be why a business exists.” Detailed below, I have identified our corporate culture, values, mindset, product description, market, and desired impact.
At McKinney Consulting, we are a leadership development company (performance development company). Our work environment is aligned with our core values, which guide us in recruiting people who are talented, self-confident, ethical, with impeccable character. Our team members are positive and highly motivated to serve others.
High Integrity
People Focused
Enthusiastic
Ownership Mindset
And Honesty
Our team members understand our core businesses and work together seamlessly to achieve our objectives. We know the strengths of each member and strive to help each other improve.
We are a performance development company. Our products and services help leaders develop clarity, confidence, and the tools required to reach their potential.
McKinney Consulting is a performance development company that provides clarity, confidence, and tools to high achievers. These leaders are already accomplishing a great deal. They want to continually achieve to reach their potential in their professional, personal, and family life.
Our team helps high achievers get the clarity, confidence, and tools needed to turn a good performance into a better one and pivot a better performance into the best performance. With our help, high achievers will be more productive, healthier, and have more significant influence. It is good to know what greatness looks like. It is better to put best practices into action. We model these best practices to reach our potential and help others achieve their potential.
