Actus des entreprises
Reason for Being
Arthur Hunt
The motivating force of meaning
Jitka, the CHRO of an engineering multinational, is on a mission. She is tasked with developing the firm’s export division. She approaches divisional director Jakub to explore options. But despite her empathetic and diplomatic approach, Jitka quickly hits a wall.
Recently Jakub has tended to resist any idea that hasn’t originated in his own brain. And yet he is a goldmine of technical knowledge. How to re-ignite the qualities of a valued, influential, (and increasingly irritable) leader?
It’s time to get back to the roots of what drives Jakub. His purpose, or Reason for Being. More than a mission or a vision, an RfB operates at the level of desire. Jitka proposes that Jakub meet with a consultant who can help him find his way back home and re-motivate him. It will only take an hour, she assures him. Glancing at his Rolex, Jakub reluctantly agrees.
The following week, the consultant and Jakub sit down together. The consultant asks Jakub a series of searching questions. Jakub slowly begins to feel intrigued, then energized. He begins to cut through layers of defensiveness acquired over years of stress and self-justification. And suddenly he sees the glimmer of his core talent. What he brings to others, and how he does it. His self-confidence revives as he recalls why the organization hired and promoted him.
After an hour of this fascinating archaeology, Jakub and the consultant formulate Jakub’s RfB. The result is surprising: “I create opportunities for people to explore new things.”
But Jakub has now reached the limits of what he can do alone. It’s time to unleash the team. The following month the consultant invites each member to individually perform the RfB exercise. Two weeks later the executives gather to share their newly defined purpose. Both with each other and with a (surprisingly relaxed) Jakub. Over two hours, the team’s individual RfBs coalesce into a shared purpose. “We share our technical know-how to break down borders.” Now the team can craft an implementation plan with action steps.
When Jitka opens her email the next day, she is delighted to see an invitation from Jakub. “Can we resume our discussion about developing the division?”
The power of purpose.
From the organizational perspective, a Reason for Being is rooted in the firm’s core competence and how it implements this with and for others. It links to the corporate culture, deeply attaching people to the company and its values. A well-defined Reason for Being establishes coherence in action. People make decisions more rapidly and consistently. An RfB drives 6 key performance areas.
- Talent
- Teambuilding
- Motivation
- Proactivity
- Communication
- Innovation
The figures speak for themselves. Purpose-oriented firms achieve greater market share than their competitors and three times their average growth. They report 30% higher innovation and 40% higher employee retention. And brands that demonstrably implement their purpose post far higher growth.*
Numbers that would make any engineer happy.
*O’Brien, D., Main, A., Kounkel, S., Stephan, A.R., (2019), ‘Purpose is everything: how brands that authentically lead with purpose are changing the nature of business today.’ Deloitte.
Arthur Hunt: https://www.arthur-hunt.cz/en/homepage/
