Team Partners Telecommunications

Setting a Purpose

Posted on Aug 23, 2018

There’s a slightly tired old phrase that tells us that we should all spend more time working “on” our business rather than “in” our business, and whilst we’d probably all agree with the sentiment, doing anything about it tends to be entirely a different matter. The result is that most of us are responders to life, we deal with what crops up in our every day, we’re reactive rather than proactive.

Is that entirely fair? Maybe not, because again most of us try and keep on top of things and bring a bit of planning into our lives, but here’s the point behind this month’s blog: what is it that drives our planning? What influences our direction in life? What are we trying to achieve?

Let us introduce you to the Purpose Train! The Purpose Train suggests that unless we know what drives the every day planning decisions we make then even these decisions are random…

Let us explain! We all have a set of Tactics we use every day to deal with what happens on a daily basis. We get up at a certain time depending on the demands of the day, we go or don’t go to work, we answer emails, the phone, our spouse, our kids, clients, work mates…we deal with it all as best we can, using the Tactics we know work.

Given half a chance we plan ahead, we strategize how best to do all the things that need to be done. We’ll devise approaches to maximise the best return on the tactics we’ll be using to achieve whatever it is that we’re going to be doing. Our Strategies will determine our Tactics.

What determines our Strategies? The answer is that it should be our Vision. It should also be our Values, in fact our Values should sit alongside our Vision when determining the Strategies we’ll be using to implement in our lives or businesses, because the Purpose Train is applicable to us personally, as a couple, in marriage or in an organisation. But what’s our Vision? Where does that come from?

Purpose.

Your Vision and Values can only really be identified, clarified, tied down and stated once you’re sure of your Purpose. The problem with many long standing organisations is that the original founding fathers’ Purpose for setting it up in the first place has been lost in the sands of time, shaking the foundations, and ultimately the credibility, on which the existing Vision is built. Purpose can only be determined by those personally engaged, it has to be owned.

So, “Purpose”. The less words you need to define your Purpose, the clearer the definition. Is your organisation’s Purpose to make money? To give employment? To make the best product? To give the best service? To make people happy? 

Once you’re clear on your Purpose your Vision will follow. It’s your blueprint for what achieving your Purpose looks like, because these two, Purpose and Vision, should determine the Strategies and Tactics you employ to fulfil them.

And Values? In essence your Values are your moral compass. They’ll tell you how to behave in achieving your Vision, what’s acceptable and what isn’t. They’ll guide you in how to treat both staff and customers, or family and friends, they’ll inform and influence how your Vision is implemented, and they’ll be an arbiter when making important decisions.