What firms that perform and last longer master

Customers, at first, gradually and then rapidly start drifting away and finding other suppliers. The staff in turn feel tired and replaceable. Even though everyone is busy, no one is sure what they are actually building and working toward.

Researchers Gerard George, Martine Haas, Anita McGahan, Simon Schillebeeckx, and Paul Tracey warn about such purpose and meanings gaps in their widely read study.

The research states that corporate purpose exists as much more than a slogan. Rather it is a clear explanation of three distinct purposes.

First, why the firm exists. Second, who the company tries to create value for. Third, what future is the organisation trying to build. Many firms erroneously just dismiss purpose as an external facing slogan and do not cascade down the real tripart purpose that the board, and hopefully senior leadership team, already know. So, the employees are left guessing and pondering their future and meaning.

Strong purpose among the three meanings must blend both a goal view, which is what one is trying to achieve, and a duty view, which is who an entity refuses to harm and who that entity is committed to serving responsibly.

When leaders only talk about profits over and over again, but ignore the organisation’s duty of care, then employee trust collapses which eventually impacts customer faith and trust.

On the flip side, when leaders only talk about duty but ignore performance, execution stalls and come to a standstill. The work of a senior executive is to hold both dimensions as they lead.

The research outlines three stages in which leaders can shift the internal culture towards a purposeful direction. Initially, start with framing. Say in plain, direct, and specific language what the firm stands for. Capture the stance in one sentence. Do not overcomplicate it and leave out buzzwords, acronyms, and slogans.

Next, formalise the purpose. Layer the purpose into the organisational structure, human resources incentives and rewards, hiring practices and profiles, training regiment, reporting lines, and the board’s attention through specific agenda items.

Read: How Kenyan businesses can thrive by embracing African values

If nothing inside the organisation’s internal mechanisms changes, then everything was just for talk and not substance. It is better to do nothing than to elevate staff hopes and then not proceed to change anything.

Finally, realising the purpose. Show proof that the purpose is being achieved in phases. Purpose has to result in visible benefits for customers, staff, and communities, not just merely for shareholders or else it seems meaningless.

Sometimes that can even mean walking away from easy short-term money because it clashes with what you said you stand for. As an example, Kenyan indigenous management consulting firm WYLDE International has famously walked away from public sector contracts that required implied bribes, as seen on social media and in conferences, so as to keep fidelity to one of its core purposes of business with integrity across all its business units and platforms.

The study also makes a harsher, more focused point. Purpose gets enforced by people, not posters, banners, or taglines. Business founders leave their fingerprints on what the company believes is right. But it becomes the staff that either carry it forward or quietly kill it.

Regulators, investors, and communities apply pressure when behaviour and messaging do not match. So, leaders who claim a purpose but reward the opposite behaviour are not just being fake, they are actively training their best people to leave the organisation.

Here is what executives here in Kenya can start doing this month to instill purpose. Write a one sentence honest purpose that a front-line normal employee would recognise.

Then change one real thing in how you run the business to match that sentence. Take for example things like how you pay, what you measure, or who gets promoted. Then showcase one piece of evidence to share with staff that proves you mean it. For example, farmer payouts, defect rates, staff retention, community safety, whatever fits your care purpose.
In summary, remember that purpose is not about branding.

Instead, it exists as internal wiring. When internal design and external expectation become aligned, then companies perform better and last longer. When the two fall out of sync, then you get what Jepkemoi is living with right now and the firm sinks.