“The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe.”
Simon Sinek
Why Purpose Matters over Profit in Business?
It has been said earlier and people will most likely keep repeating the fact that over the next few years there will be rapid changes in the industries and the way everyone works. Thanks to Artificial Intelligence, machines will now be able to think tens and thousands of times faster than human brains. Blockchain technology has made the world even more transparent. Big data is enabling companies to provide individualized, custom experiences.
The Generation Z
We have started the revolution in businesses. Fondly called Gen Z, ours is the generation that is directing all its business decisions to a stage where purpose matters more than the profit. Gen Z is all set to challenge the fundamental ways in which businesses operate.
It is the generation that has put behind the obsession with feature wars, product iterations, and chasing of the quarterly results.
You might want to question what the business is worth then? Well, the answer is clear!
Gen Z is driven by purpose. The questions crossing their minds are something like- Why does a company choose what they are doing? What is the purpose behind their existence?
And as we move forward, this Gen Z will grow into the most powerful group of customers, employees, and brands that will want to survive and embrace a purpose-driven strategy to their business.
How to adopt your business to lead with Purpose?
The companies that would succeed in the future would not need more products or better features; although they are a given. But the most important thing they need to focus on is a better purpose.
Unfortunately, most companies are not driven by purpose. They are driven by the quarterly results. They focus on expanding into the growing markets. Their goal is iteration and not innovation. While it is important to set goals and targets for your company, it can’t be the only thing that drives your business. Because while planning out goals and targets, what you forget is that you might be left behind.
Sure expansion is not that bad of an idea, but it will give you profit growth for the next 3 to 5 years. But then what happens after that?
Let us take the example of a tool company. What if instead of running the company for profits, the tool companies led their business with the purpose of ‘helping the people build their dreams? Wouldn’t this be a noble purpose for a tool company? Instead of just being ‘a tool company’, it will have a purpose.
This could also help the company expand and they can enter any sector when they go to help people build their dreams. They can create furniture décor ideas for people with new homes. If at all they expand, they can have a line of luxury hotels and help people have their dream vacations!
See? Running a company with a purpose will still have something to look forward to than just being a simple tool company.
This is the reason why a purpose-driven strategy is a must.
Simon Sinek has already said,
‘People don’t buy what you do, they buy it for WHY you do it.’
Only the brands that are led with a purpose-driven strategy have become remarkable ones.
And the most popular example of this is Netflix.
When Netflix was first launched, there was not as much of an internet presence as there is now. But in its initial days, the company worked only on DVD sales and rentals over the internet. But then eventually, they transitioned into a subscription-based DVD rental model. But as the influence of the internet and Online entertainment platforms increased, the company has transitioned again by offering the DVD content of its library via streaming.
Get the point?
If you drive your company with a purpose, it becomes easy for you to go with the trends, to transition into what is demanding. This will keep you in the market, and for which you won’t have to change the idea of your business. Instead, just transition into something the trend has!
