Kieran Flanagan @ThinkKieranF
Purpose has become quite a complicated word in today's economic environment. It is layered with meaning as for some it connotes a willingness to be more environmentally, socially and politically conscious, where for others, it is more about pursuing greater personal and professional meaning and transformation in our work and in how we choose to spend our time.
The truth, as is so often the case, probably borrows a little from each of these definitions, but what does this mean for us working in the worlds of commercial creativity as well as those engaged in social innovation.
Maximising profits is no longer the only business mantra
Accenture Interactive CEO, Brian Whipple, in a recent FastComany article quoted Global Consumer Pulse Research (2019) as indicating that 62% of consumers now want organisations to take a stand on current issues such as sustainability, transparency and worker welfare, with 47% prepared to walk away if they’re unsatisfied. 17% suggested that they would be unwilling to come back having been disappointed.
Additionally, shareholders are now evaluating their investment options for both meaning and money, which makes a single bottom line focus an increasing risky strategy.
So, if both our customers and our investors are actively seeking purpose in how they spend their hard-earned, how might this shape and guide innovation strategy?
It means doing work that is worthwhile, not simply doing good
Of course, there is nothing essentially wrong with simply doing good, however a more useful filter for innovation might be doing work that is worthwhile. Work that satisfies those engaged in it, that contributes to those it serves as customers, clients and communities and enriches us all socially and environmentally as well as economically.
In other words, we don’t necessarily need to sell all our possessions and go and work for a charity, but rather we should seek to understand where we can make the greatest contribution and add the greatest value.
In this regard, value created, in the broadest sense of the word, should be our innovation filter or lens.
Purpose and innovation must be part of your organisation's DNA
To do this effectively, purpose and a culture of innovation must start at the top. Which is not to say that that is where all the best ideas will come from, simply that it is a leader's responsibility to both lead by example and also to create space for important decisions and the status quo to be questioned and challenged.
With CEOs and executive teams being held to greater account than the single bottom line, new metrics, behaviours and strategic directions must be implemented.
However, rather than constraining innovation, it is an invitation to work that is more impactful.
Innovation must be linked to value & contribution
This means that innovation must be far more strategically directed and less a function of a lucky discovery or random advancement in technology or experience.
Fundamentally, we should view innovation through the lens of transformational leadership, asking, “What is the change we seek to make in the world?”
The changes we lead, invent and commercialise must align with our organisational purpose, advance its progress and be congruent with the expectations of our community - both internal and external.
A shift from “company man” to community member
Organisations often talk about the triple bottom line including People, Profit & Planet. And this can be a valuable filter for making strategic decisions at a leadership and executive level.
I have found making the following distinctions useful for fuelling innovation strategy and shaping the questions we should ask to ensure we are driving Innovation on Purpose:
Commercial - Is it economically sensible and sustainable?
Contribution - is is work that is worthwhile and makes the lives of those we serve better?
Community - Does it serve our people and the communities and environments they inhabit? (The distinction between the two can often be artificial and prejudicial.)
Ultimately, purpose should sit at the centre of all of your innovation initiatives. This just seems logical and practical. However, it is in the defining of this purpose, and the value lens you create from it, that determines your success as an innovator and the impact you are able to achieve.