Messaging: Clarifying Your Purpose

Purpose Precedes Promotion

The first business book I remember reading was a parable about a man who goes on a journey to turn around a dying company. That book, "The On-Purpose Business Person" by Kevin McCarthy, and its prequel "The On-Purpose Person", reshaped the way I viewed boring-sounding "statements" I had seen decorating lobbies and conference rooms.

Kevin took a different, redemptive, structured approach to deploying personal and corporate Purpose, Vision, and Mission statements.

I'd like to suggest that understanding the differences between the three and connecting them to our God-given differences is the unlock for building lasting connection and culture. What if work had meaning... for everyone?

Differentiation

The premise I'm offering is all companies have a differentiated Purpose. So, if our Purpose statement sounds similar to someone else’s, that means either:

• the market is large enough and generic enough to support multiple enterprises doing the exact same thing or

• it’s time to differentiate further.

Crafting Yours

Purpose statements don't have to be hippie-dippie-sounding sayings developed in an ivory tower somewhere that no one can remember. Instead, if we think of Purpose, Vision, and Mission as highly applicable concepts that we think about deeply infrequently and then deploy frequently, then according to McCarthy: Purpose becomes core to Vision which becomes core to Mission.

McCarthy frames a personal Purpose statement this way:

"I serve _______ by ____ing _______."

For example, my personal Purpose statement is:

"I serve fellow travelers by shedding light."

A personal Purpose statement can be deployed in multiple arenas, like Family, Faith, Friendship, and Finances (i.e. work) and becomes an internal metric for whether we're creating or diminishing political capital. The idea can be extended for each team member in a business context. And then, once we create a business Purpose statement, team member personalities and goals (yes, Purposes) can be aligned corporately.

Because I’m solo, the Purpose of RevOps Report is a variation of my personal Purpose statement from above:

“I create goodwill by illuminating frameworks that compound growth.”

If we consider the foundational questions Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How, Purpose answers the questions Why? and Who?:

• Why do we exist as a company?

• Who do we help?

Vision and Mission follow naturally, with Vision applying Purpose to strategy. More specifically, a Vision statement answers questions like What? and Where?:

• What are we doing?

• Where are we going?

Similarly, Mission applies strategy to tactics. Mission statements answer questions like How? and When?:

• How do we help?

• When do we help?

Putting it all together, in our neighborhoods, we appreciate it when we run into someone with these kinds of driving personal statements:

• Purpose: "I serve people geographically close to me by making introductions."

• Vision: "This neighborhood is going to be the kind of place where everyone waves at each other."

• Mission: "I'm going to personally run an event in the clubhouse every two months."

You can see the concentric layers work together and how the outer layer, Mission, is subject to change the most.

In my view, the structure for creating a personal-business Purpose statement is:

"I create value for _______ by ____ing _______."

Some Purpose statement examples for various team members are:

• "I serve shareholders by simplifying complexity."

• "I serve clients by finding pain."

• "I serve team members by creating systems."

For someone who is highly tactical, a personal Purpose statement might be:

"I serve others by taking relentless action."

And, that individual's personal-business Purpose statement could be:

"I create value for high-end clients by operating high-touch service businesses."

Elevating the framework from personal to business, here's an example for a premier local plumbing business:

Purpose: "We create value for high-end clients in Tampa by delivering premium plumbing solutions on-time, perfectly, with extras."

Vision: "We go the extra mile to continuously train staff and select components to create outstanding client experiences and reduce risks associated with complex plumbing installations."

Mission: "We partner with Acme Training solutions for continuous education, Acme Rewards to consistently recognize all-star performance, and Acme plumbing supplies to source the right components ahead of schedule."

There could be multiple Mission statements, but hopefully that paints the picture. By creating a corporate road map, we naturally prioritize hiring for Purpose alignment. Statements are memorized, not by force, but by application within the business. And, culture (or the sum of the people on the team) soars.

Aside: A "goal" might be to surpass some sales target or be the "best ever", but in addition to being the forgettable standard fare, those kinds of statements are less "customer-focused" and more "us-focused". They can also focus on Lag measures (indicators) vs. Lead measures (levers) ---> see 4DX book by Franklin Covey ---> and, we're trying to not repeat the hippie-dippie, one-size-fits-all mistakes of the past.

Conclusion

Getting clear on personal and business Purpose:

• allows us to connect with the right people and

• gives us a foundation for downstream messaging frameworks like ABT, StoryBrand, and PAS.

It takes a little more work, but when we acknowledge everyone has individual superpowers and connect those to a customer-focused messaging framework, outcomes follow.

So, what are your personal and personal-business Purpose statements? How about for your team or company?