Endure – ElPropósito4 min de lectura

Qualities that let us stand the test of time

I like writing about purpose, whether it is a person’s life purpose or the purpose of a team or a company. Part of the reason is that I believe we are all called to know our life purpose. The other part is that I always wanted to read or write a message that would somehow help me face Sundays with courage, knowing the next day was Monday. Mondays used to stress me out a great deal, especially on Sunday. Over the years I have found elements that let me go deeper and deeper into why, and what for, we are in the world. On top of that, the coaching school where I trained has, as one of its key sessions, working with our clients to define that purpose statement. The methodology, like every tool the school uses, is very playful. It is an invitation to a game, and the journey to that powerful statement is, without a doubt, my favorite. So what leads me to write today about enduring, and how do I connect it with purpose? That is what I invite you to read in this short post.

I have seen, and confirmed, that the companies that endure are those whose founder or founders are clear about the purpose they created the company for. Sadly, I have also seen many companies collapse in their first crisis because they never had the chance to put into words the statement that defines that purpose. It is striking that when the founder is still alive and we run that session, usually as part of a strategic planning exercise, tears sometimes roll down the founders’ faces, or it becomes a deeply revealing moment that captures the essence of an organization probably founded a couple of decades earlier. These somewhat intangible matters are part of organizational culture whether we like it or not. Just like "the number," the P&L, the goals and the objectives, it matters that everyone knows the purpose, lives it, shares it and above all questions their actions against that beacon, that compass. That is why a purpose is something other than an objective to reach. Purpose is an organization’s very path. Note that the same applies to a person or a team.

Back to the central theme of this post: enduring. How do institutions outlast any given group of people who pass through them? Precisely through their purpose. It is true that processes, organizational structure, project execution, good practices and so on play a fundamental role in helping a company run efficiently. Yet on top of all that, every short, medium and long-term plan has to be tied to the company’s unique purpose. I have written elsewhere on this blog that a well-articulated purpose is clearly distinct from a company’s vision, its mission, its values and everything that cascades from them, such as goals, objectives, budgets, tasks, projects and so much more. I would dare say the single biggest contributor to organizational culture ends up being the company’s purpose itself.

Institutions, and people too, that have endured for centuries have done so because they acted every second of their lives in line with a system or structure shaped by their own purpose. At some point they became clear about why they, and we, are in this world. A person, a group or a great institution that behaves guided by its purpose endures, is recognized and stands out clearly from any other group or person. It carries a hallmark that makes it look and act ethically, professionally and, above all, with a clear north. What I love most about seeing these traits in the institutions I mention is how all their members behave and carry themselves. They are far from automatons living under a dictatorship where they cannot grow as people. Anyone who works at an institution that endures knows the entrance door is wide and the exit door is twice as wide. Why? Because the company is always willing to invite anyone to pursue their purpose outside the organization if the case calls for it. Otherwise, anyone working in an organization whose purpose is firm, clear and well articulated feels they are in the right place.

Warm regards and all the best,

Rodrigo Baccaro

Author: Rodrigo Baccaro

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