Purpose summary

You now know what purpose is, and why it’s important. So how can you acquire it? Well, purpose takes four forms, each of which stems from ethical traditions that have developed through the work of different philosophers from Classical Greece to the modern era. Let’s start with the purpose of discovery.

This purpose is tied to the work of Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard and the existentialists, and their powerful arguments for the ethic of choice. Kierkegaard asserts that it’s simply not enough to hide behind rules and conventions, and blame them when things go badly. Instead, individuals are responsible for the choices they make.

Once you’ve discovered a new and innovative way to do business, you’ll need to execute it to the best of your abilities. Enter our second purpose, excellence. The ethic connected to it is virtue, developed by Greek philosopher Aristotle.

Aristotle concluded that people cultivate virtues as a means to become successful and achieve their desired end: fulfillment. In fact, Aristotle even had a particular word to describe the state of fulfillment, success and flourishing: it was called eudaimonia, and for Aristotle, this was the function of Man.

Scottish historian and philosopher David Hume is renowned for his development of an ethic of compassion. This is connected to the purpose of altruism.

For Hume, the fundamental motivation behind any action is to increase happiness. While this might sound selfish or hedonistic, our happiness is actually a function of how we’re able to make others, as well as ourselves, happy. Hume argued that we have a natural sympathy for others.

Although many of us might find the work of German philosopher Nietzsche to be impenetrable, his ideas contain one of the most useful ethics for business leaders: heroism. This isn’t simply the desire to win, but the will to be bold and dare to do something that nobody else has tried.

Nietzsche believed that only few people are truly free and thus capable of leading. Those who do not have such capabilities choose to follow those who are endowed with leadership skills. But those who do exhibit them will realize that they should exert their influence, and take on the role of leader with ambition.

As Prussian general and military theorist Carl von Clausewitz said, physical factors in war are “little more than the wooden hilt, while the morale factors are the precious metal, the real weapon, the finely-honed blade.” The same is true for businesses.

Just as soldiers with high morale are more likely to win a battle, companies in which employees have high morale tend to be more successful. In fact, a 2003 study by insurance company Towers Perrin found a positive correlation between strong employee morale and returns to shareholders.

It often seems that the most successful companies are the most innovative ones. But while innovation is indeed a great competitive advantage, it won’t provide lasting success without purpose to back it up.

Global consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton conducted a survey on the top thousand companies with the largest research and development budgets. The survey found that there was, to the surprise of many, no significant correlation between innovation and the success of the companies.

We’d all like to know exactly how to beat the competition. Unfortunately, there’s no perfect formula, but one of the best ways for your company to achieve a sustainable advantage in the market is through strategic positioning. This simply means that your company must be at a specific position in the market that others can neither choose, nor copy.

Admittedly, that’s easier said than done – but it is still doable! It starts with developing routines and relationships. By coordinating what people do and how they connect to each other, you’ll be able to unite your company under a powerful, unique strategy.