So many firms I speak to think that increasing revenue and profit is their raison d’etre.

Does your business behave that way? Have you ever wondered if you might be missing something?
Have you ever thought that that focus may even be limiting your success?

Some of the most successful companies of today are realising that an overriding financial focus does weaken their results. They have found a far more effective way to do business.

Financial obsession will act as a brake

Actually, a predominantly financial focus has several overpowering, negative results:

• Money is divisive so, if you want your firm to align and unite, you will discover instead that your leadership team, and their departments, are actually pulling in different directions!
• The world is changing. Increasingly, good staff seek out a career which will achieve more than simply making money for their employers. As a result, firms miss the best talent and engagement will be a fraction of what it could be.
• A predominantly financial focus usually implies a short-term focus. The businesses that consistently outperform their markets, growing quickly and profitably year after year, do so by focusing on the drivers of ‘good growth’ such as taking time out to develop deep client-understanding, providing unusually good customer value and excellent customer service. Firms that drive for short term profit believe that, if they were to do any of these things, they would simply worsen the bottom line.

What is a higher purpose?

Choosing a higher purpose means to decide that a firm’s principal aim is to improve lives or, even, the world in some meaningful way.

A few but increasing number of businesses are realising that, delivering a higher purpose is far more satisfying AND ALSO has the power to multiply their business profits – several times over.

Here are a few examples of firms that live their higher purpose:

• Unilever’s CEO, Paul Poleman, challenged his staff to define a higher purpose that inspired them. They chose “sustained living'”. In just one example, they repackaged Lifebuoy soap and created educational programmes to encourage children in under developed countries to wash their hands. So Unilever is helping to save lives! Who would have expected that?
• Zappos’ purpose is “delivering happiness” to their customers, employees and, now, their local community. Their CEO, Tony Hsieh states “great companies have a vision that has a higher purpose beyond just money or profits . . . as it turns out, research has shown that it’s a good long-term business strategy”.
• Disney’s purpose, as many of us have experienced, is to “use our imaginations to bring happiness to millions”.

So, you understand the satisfaction a higher purpose gives but, do you know how it will multiply your revenue and profits?

The seven benefits of a higher purpose

There are seven ways a higher purpose will multiply a firm’s profits:

1. A higher purpose captures the hearts and minds of your staff. So engagement and commitment levels shoot up.

2. A higher purpose will unite and align your staff so they all pull together as one team to achieve it.

3. When business leaders and their staff focus on a higher purpose they start to put themselves in those clients’ shoes so the latter will feel understood – and customers thoroughly appreciate feeling understood.

4. Due to 1 – 3 above the business will start to create products, services and solutions that provide the clients with unusually good value.

5. If those solutions are not quite right the first time, as commitment to the higher purpose is so strong, everyone involved will push to solve even the big, “unsolvable”, challenges the client base faces.

6. Soon your firm will build a reputation for being different and better than anyone else in your market, as much for the impressive performance levels as the commitment your staff consistently exhibits.

7. A higher purpose ensures that your firm will always be externally, client, focused. So you will avoid the trap of developing an internal focus, which kills revenue and profit growth dead.

So, will you set about choosing a higher purpose for your business? You may have no idea where to start but, with so many benefits, will that stop you?

One last thought: I wonder, when you reach the end of your career or your life, what will you be most proud of? The impressive improvement in business results or the positive impact you had on the world?

Which firm’s higher purpose aims inspire you? I would be interested to know.