BUSINESS WITH A PURPOSE

Manilka Ediriweera explains the importance of setting goals in business

The age of responsible business is upon us and public expectation of companies has never been greater. Organisations shouldn’t only deliver financial performance but also show how they make a positive impact on society.

This often leads to questions: Why does your company exist? What impact does it have on society? Why should people want to work for your organisation or purchase products and services from it?

And this is where purpose comes into play… 

We’re all aware of the importance of setting goals in our personal lives because we would flounder without them. The same applies to enterprises because they need a purpose too – because otherwise, brands would flounder.

Individuals and organisations will flourish when they’re rooted in an authentic purpose that’s focussed on impacting society, eliciting joy, enabling connection, inspiring exploration and evoking pride.

However, many enterprises are unsure and even doubt the importance of setting a goal that goes beyond profit. The notion that businesses should stand for something greater than profit has always existed. Yet, some organisations consider it simply as an add-on.

Nevertheless, research involving high growth companies has shown that in many, purpose is a core element of their strategy. When this is combined with committed leadership and financial investment, it generates sustainable and profitable growth that strengthens ties with shareholders. It also helps keep these organisations relevant in a constantly changing environment.

A compelling objective lets everyone know why the company exists, what it stands for, provides an incentive for action and is aspirational. When the goal of an organisation resonates with its stakeholders, they are better engaged and care more about the results. For it to benefit the business, a purpose must be lived by its employees, reflected in its products and services, and felt by customers and shareholders.

Chairman and CEO of BlackRock Laurence Fink says: “Purpose is not a mere tag line or marketing campaign; it’s a company’s fundamental reason for being – what it does every day to create value for its stakeholders. Purpose is not the sole pursuit of profits but the animating force for achieving them.”

Goals play a major role in redefining the playing field, to grow and transform the ecosystem and redesigning the value proposition to foster deep customer relationships that endure.


Therefore, it’s essential to ensure that an organisation’s objectives are central to corporate strategy – either by transforming the leadership agenda or dispersing purpose throughout the organisation. Making it central to a company’s approach will help it create a more unified entity, motivated stakeholders and a broader positive impact on society.

Today, the requirements or expectations of employees and customers differ from what they once were, making goals a powerful force that provides organisations with a competitive advantage. Employees are seeking jobs that give them a sense of purpose while customers look for brands based on values they identify with.

An extensive global study on the role of purpose in the workforce conducted by LinkedIn reveals that it helped employees have greater levels of engagement, and outperform their colleagues in every indicator including leadership competencies and expected tenure.

For employees, purpose is a way to bring meaning to work and understand the contributions they make not only to the company but also society. Similarly, customers view purpose driven brands as being caring and are loyal to them.

Not only will it inspire and attract employees and customers but also improve the bottom line of the organisation. With a goal guiding a company’s decision making, everything including engagement and satisfaction – as well as environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) – reporting will fall into place with financial results following automatically.

Millward Brown and Jim Stengel conducted one of the most important studies on purpose and profit, and created a list of the world’s 50 fastest growing brands based on 10 years of empirical research involving 50,000 companies. According to this study, these purpose driven companies saw 400 percent more returns on the stock market than the S&P 500.

So to achieve success and growth, companies must embed purpose in every aspect of the organisation, and approach it more holistically to maximise value for employees, shareholders and other stakeholders while benefitting the company itself. A focus on an enterprise’s goals will keep employee engagement, strategy and branding on track.

Purpose is a call for action to generate social value, and help organisations achieve sustainable growth and success.