A couple of weeks ago I asked the question “The purpose of a company is …” in several LinkedIn and other social media groups; this is a short selection of the many comments:
….to add meaning to the lives of those who work for the company…..
…to contribute positively to the lives of those who come into contact with it at all its interfaces….
“When you join a company, you need to understand the purpose of the company. The purpose of the company should excite you. Explore and find the purpose, go along with it and enjoy it. If you don’t conform to the norms of the company, then you will be ejected”
I had the good fortune of meeting the business philosopher Charles Handy a couple years ago.
He told me the story (that he has often told) of gently provoking his MBA students to think beyond results, growth, and profit. He challenged them to ask themselves, What are we, the Company, building? Are we making this world a better place for our employees (and their families), our customers, our investors, and our communities and neighbors?
In his own words:
“The companies that survive longest are the one’s that work out what they uniquely can give to the world, not just growth or money, but their excellence, their respect for others, or their ability to make people happy. Some call those things a soul.”
…to design (timely) visions and produce meaningful offers
…to create structures for creative and freelancer-based employment where sharing is like facebook – simple and fair!
…to combine economic AND social aspects – means not to focus on profits as the only value…
The purpose of a company is to satisfy the needs of customers, the needs of the members of the organization, the needs of the ownership and the needs of society. (Society is usually represented by the government.) The reason all four groups need to be satisfied is that the withdrawal of support from any of the groups will destroy the company.
For me the Purpose of a company is to remain aligned to its goals and to focus on continuous development along with taking care of the needs of its surroundings and adapting well to them and in turn making the maximum positive impact to the society. This will automatically promote growth of the company and would help it fulfill all its roles.
If “purpose” means “why companies exist”, then i believe it is different for every company!
Different people go into business for different reasons.
Richard Branson, Sergi Brin, etc seem to have chosen to have fun and be trouble-makers in established market places, while the founders of the “1 percent for the planet” had mostly environmental sustainability in mind…
If i try to package it into a thought-provoking definition:
“the purpose of a company is the sum of the purposes of its people/employees, where the opinions of the founders & leaders weigh somehow more than those of the people at the bottom of the pyramid”.
According to me the Purpose of a Company ( Many times is a collective “purpose of the people who run it ) However, Here is what I would like it to be
1. To Create “wealth” and “Wellbeing” for all the stakeholders .
2. To be a catalyst in bringing about large scale “Social” change through encouraging and inspiring its people to also wear the hat of a Social Entrepreneur.
3. Bring about equanimity.
2. To be a catalyst in bringing about large scale “Social” change through encouraging and inspiring its people to also wear the hat of a Social Entrepreneur.
3. Bring about equanimity.
I suppose it depends on who you ask.
From a general perspective, Peter Drucker said: “The purpose of business is to create and keep a customer.” From a legal/government perspective, a company purpose statement is simply an explanation of the types of activities you engage in to earn money. To the financial sector, the purpose of a company is to make profits and increase shareholder value. If you own or are the CEO the company, there could be a number of other purposes: to provide you with a certain standard of living, fulfill a life’s mission, provide a valuable product or service. As an employee, it may be simply to allow you to pay your bills, own a home, etc.
The purpose of a company is to create value to every party within its territory.
