Tuesday 19 February 2013

The pull of purpose

Most people are pushing to grow their businesses.  Social media is a great example where it seems everyone and their dog is pushing for people to buy their products/services.

Pulling is simpler and more attractive.  And nothing pulls like purpose particularly if you are pulling in a clearly defined niche or niches.

A lot of people still think that profit is the reason for being in business.  In the 21st century having profit as the reason for the existence of your organisation is a recipe for going broke.  And it is a sure sign of pushing.

Profit is not a reason for being in business, never has been.  Profit is a result of being good at business.

When I made the above statement to a group of CEO’s in 1992 there was laughter in the room.  No thinking person is laughing any more.

Are you confusing reason with result?
And are you pushing or pulling?

Making a profit is one measure of being successful.  There is nothing evil about profit.  If profit is your reason though it drives you and confuses your customers/clients. As Simon Sinek exclaimed in a great book Start With Why “people don’t buy what we do they buy why we do it.”

Why do you do what you do?  What is your reason?

Reason is another word for purpose.  There is power and pull in purpose.  It draws people like a magnet to us.

Recently I added Randy Gage’s great book Risky is the new safe to my recommended reading list.  Randy refers to a leading expert in the field of purpose Ian Percy who says “You can’t have peak performance without first having a peak purpose.”

What is your peak purpose for being in business?

Randy proposes three great questions to help us find our real reason (purpose) for being in business.

“What do I love?
What makes me cry?
What is the injustice I want to right?”

What would be your answers to these questions?

In one of my most read articles since I began sharing my thoughts in 1991 I wrote the following about purpose:

“The Macquarie Dictionary defines purpose “the object for which anything exists or is done, made, used etc; an intended or desired result; end or aim; intention or determination”

Poet and writer Gita Bellin said “success depends on where intention is.” This is a very powerful statement. To change an outcome we must modify or change behaviour, because continuing to do the same old thing expecting a different result is a good definition of stupidity! In my experience before behaviour change is lasting we must first modify or change our thinking and to do that we often must modify or change our feeling and to do that we often have to modify or change our intention or purpose!

So what is your purpose? What was your aim when you got up this morning? What were you feeling and thinking literally? If you are like me the answers to these questions can be elusive and often the day is over before it really seemed to begin.”

The above is from my article A pathway to achieving possibility.  You can read the full article here.  I propose a formula in this article

Principle before passion; passion before purpose; passion and purpose during practice = possibility

I recommend this formula as one way to really zero in on your purpose.

Find your purpose and you will be able to pull more than push.  You will stand out.  And soon people in your niche or niches will be coming to you in droves.

Be the difference you want to see in the world.
Ian

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