When an Organisation Blows Up its Purpose

If you’ve ever wondered “what’s the commercial value of business purpose clarity?” then the PwC Australia case study playing out right now is one for the ages.

In brief, the firm is accused – as advisers to government under non-disclosure agreements – of using confidential information for commercial gain, tipping off their clients of looming tax changes and helping them develop work arounds (refer PwC’s statement or ABC’s video summary).

Whether it can survive and recover is anyone’s guess, with criminal charges not out of the question. And it’s not a case of a rogue consultant, this went far and wide within the firm.

What is PwC’s purpose statement I hear you ask?

“Our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems”

#fail

It highlights the fact that too many corporate purpose statements represent fiction rather than fact. Companies have become quite adept at forming eloquent purpose statements that make your heart sing. I help organisations with this task from time to time and the key message I push out is: this is merely a statement of intent, you have to actually do it.

So it may not surprise you to learn that, what they are not so good at by and large, is doing it. So what does ‘doing it’ really mean? This is a challenge that many executives and directors are turning to right now.

It’s firstly about governance, how do you know if you are delivering on your purpose or not?

  • What do you measure?
  • How do measure it?
  • Who is accountable?

Furthermore, when remuneration is misaligned with the purpose of the firm, as would appear to be the case with PwC Australia, then the temptations can be too great.

To adopt and implement corporate purpose, it is about hard coding the benefit you aim to deliver to society into the DNA of the firm, not treating it as a passing fancy for the annual offsite and a bunch of rah rah associated with it.

Having conquered governance – and very few firms have managed to do that – the overall goals and measures have to be pushed down through to strategy, operations and people.

It’s seldom about reinventing the way you do business, it’s about putting a purpose-lens or overlay onto your existing processes.

The hard work pays off many times over. Ignore it and you may end up like our good friends at PwC Australia, facing an existential crisis, and all because several partners saw fit to put their own greed above that of their client’s interests.

On the upside, they have reminded us all about the value of trust. 🍏

= = =

Phil Preston is a keynote speaker and facilitator who helps individuals, teams and organisations draw upon the power of purpose for high performance with positive impact. He is the author of Connecting Profit with Purpose, host of The Purpose Edge podcast and you can contact him via hello@philpreston.com.au

What does Ash Barty’s retirement have to do with purpose?

It’s hard to identify a public figure – sporting or otherwise – who Australian’s love more than Ash Barty. She role models hard work, honesty, humility, integrity, transparency and the list goes on.

Yes, she has many outstanding tournament titles to her name, but it’s more about the way she goes about it. Like any ‘brand’, it takes hard work and consistency to create such an image, exemplified in her media conference earlier today.

So what does her shock retirement at the ripe old age of 25(!) have to do with purpose? I don’t know her so I can’t say anything for sure, however her interviews and statements provide some clues.

Purpose is about aims and goals, and meaning is about the significance of those goals. Her Wimbledon victory felt like a major milestone and then the Australian Open was an opportunity to reward herself, her team and her fans. She’d lost the passion and drive to keep on achieving at the highest level, and that drove her decision to retire.

There are two key dimensions to purpose: intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. Earning a living, attaining good health and wellbeing, finding the right job or being excited about jumping out of bed every day are examples of intrinsic motivation.

Extrinsic motivators are more about giving, helping and supporting others. When we do it we get good vibes and feelings, however it stems from an intention and focus on others gaining rewards.

What I see in Ash is someone who is no longer thriving in tennis, and looking to thrive in other aspects of life. Spending more time with family and friends – not to mention a pending marriage – is a shift to a new type of intrinsic motivation for her.

We also see a shift toward extrinsic motivations, or ‘higher purpose’, with her stated desire to encourage Aboriginal and indigenous kids in sport, for example.

Purpose is never a fixed or static thing, it evolves with us and as the world changes around us.

I sense that we will hang on her sporting wins and successes in the short term, and over time we will come to realise there’s a lot more to the Ash Barty story, and that she has done what very few high achievers manage to do – to go out on their terms when they are on top.

What impact does Ash Barty have on you? Has it prompted you to reflect on your direction in life?

I invite you to add your thoughts.

Phil Preston is a purpose development expert who helps people and organisations maximise their impact. You can find out more on his speaker website, or visit the business purpose project.

You might like to follow him on LinkedInTwitter or make contact via hello@philpreston.com.au

Announcing the Launch of The Business Purpose Project

I’m pleased to announce the official launch of The Business Purpose Project!

If you’re concerned about the challenges we’re facing in our world, the harsh reality is that charitable giving and responsible business practices cannot solve them on their own. So where do we turn?

We’re here to help people and organisations navigate the shift to the purpose economy – a world where businesses must learn how to create win-wins with society in order to prosper and grow.

It’s the only way we can lock in a better lives for ourselves and future generations.

Our Resources

On our website you’ll find a range of valuable resources such as our guide to Getting Purpose Ready, an online assessment tool to benchmark your organisation, several business purpose case studies or you can follow our LinkedIn Page for regular items of interest on purpose.

Corporate Conversations on Purpose

In coming weeks, I’m really excited about the first episode of Corporate Conversations on Purpose in collaboration with Lynne Filderman. We interview an expert in intergenerational success, Ben Smithee, about the purpose of Gen Zs and Millennials and how companies should respond.

If you want to receive notifications about our episodes or occasional newsletters you can contact us or subscribe from our home page.

Recent Articles

These recent articles may pique your interest:

We have a range of solutions, including purpose statement reviews, a new lens for innovation, organisational transformation, employee engagement, culture building, performance improvement, competitive advantage, stakeholder relationships, thought leadership offerings and program content.

Can You Help Us?

Please do check out our resources because they’ll help you and your people no matter what stage you are at on your purpose journey.

We’ve been head-down for months getting all this in place. Apart from talking to you, I’d love to receive introductions or connections to the right people, so the question I have is: Who in your network would benefit from this?

 

Phil Preston

The Business Purpose Project

ceo@businesspurposeproject.com

+61 408 259 633