An ant colony works because all its members contribute to the same task: supplying, protecting and sustaining the colony. Nobody has to explain it anew every morning – it is built into the system.
In companies, the “what for” is rarely that clear. The result is plenty of activity but little direction: teams optimise their own piece, priorities shift, and every decision needs follow-up questions.
What a good purpose does
- It answers in one sentence what your company exists for – beyond revenue.
- It helps with decisions: does something fit or not?
- It is concrete enough to be checked in daily work.
How to get there
Ask your team: “What would be missing if we did not exist?” Collect the answers, look for the common thread and turn it into one sentence. Test it against three real decisions from the past weeks: would it have helped?
Your next step
Write down a draft of your purpose today and ask two colleagues to comment on it. The first of the seven steps is exactly about this: clarifying the vision.
