Real Velona

Business is full of pithy sayings that are meant to inspire and guide us. Soundbites like Peter Drucker’s “You can’t manage what you don’t measure”. But Drucker’s words are often taken out of context. Human systems are extremely difficult to measure, but there are some very powerful levers we can pull to maximise performance. Culture can’t be quantified, but purpose and beliefs are lever points that have a multiplier effect on organisation performance.

Setting direction is about more than a budget. A business’s purpose needs to go further than just profit and growth targets. In an increasingly commoditised world, you need to create a connection with your customers. That connection happens when you align value systems.

Apple makes a highly commoditised product. So, why does Apple hold such a special place in the current market and why can they charge higher prices than their competitors? Why do people wait in line outside the stores to buy the latest products? Apple has tapped into an audience with a common set of beliefs around design and function. Harley Davidson has done the same, tapping into rebel culture.

The research of Simon Sinek, looking at leaders such as Apple and Martin Luther King, led to a profound realisation. While every business knows what it’s doing, very few understand why they do what they do. They don’t understand their real purpose and beliefs.

As Sinek puts it “The goal is not to do business with people who want what you have. The goal is to do business with people who believe what you believe”.

A successful business must have a clear purpose that goes beyond profit and growth targets. This purpose should be rooted in a set of core beliefs that resonate with customers and drive the organisation’s actions.

Purpose can be an overloaded term, and I have noticed a lot of confusion around the terminology that is most often used to describe it. These terms have been overloaded over time and there is no consistent definition with which everyone applies. Vision and Mission are often synonymous, as are Purpose and the Why.

One way that I really like is to articulate this purpose through:

• a “Core Belief” – Which provides the context in the environment which is relevant, which creates the need for the organisation.
• the “Aim” – This is the core of our purpose, which clearly articulates the change we want to make in our environment.
• a number of “Expeditions” – That drive the organisation forward towards the aim. These expeditions should be aspirational aims that may never be fully achieved but provide direction and motivation. There can be primary expeditions that drive the organisation directly toward the Aim, and also tertiary expeditions that support the primary ones.

This ontology is not mine, it was given to me by a colleague of mine Marcio Sete after researching the domain deeply. If you are interesting in developing something like this for your organisation he is well worth reaching out to.

To achieve these expeditions, organisations can use an expedition-based approach that focuses on both the ‘what’ and ‘how’. This approach uses Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that are public, reviewed frequently, and look ahead. Unlike traditional Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), OKRs aren’t tightly coupled with compensation systems and support sensible risk-taking.

Ultimately, the key to success lies in understanding the ‘why’ behind the organisation’s actions. When everyone is aligned on purpose and beliefs, the organisation can journey towards a future where it achieves its goals and creates a lasting impact.