Forget about mission and vision statements —they’re useless in this context.
This is not a marketing / branding exercise and definitely NOT aspirational (there’s a HUGE difference between aspirational and inspirational, but that’s for another email). It’s who you are and what you stand for.
I’m taking you’re in the business of helping people get what they want. If not, that’s ok too. But maybe this is not the kind of email you want to read.
Purpose
Actionable, yet fuzzy. It’s the thing that moves you to do what you do and makes you shine. One of the simplest frameworks to apply I’ve found consists in two parts: Contribution and Impact.
Contribution is how you show up and shine at your very best. Every. Single. Time. It’s the thing you actually do.
Impact is what you see in the future if your contribution would be achieved and scaled all over the world all over time. It’s the world you imagine.
There are many talks, articles and bs about purpose. However, this quote from Blair Enns brings a great way to contextualize what comes next. “We have all one purpose: to elevate ourselves to help in the transformation of others.”
Questions that will help you figure out that big picture of purpose:
- How do you show at your very best?
- What makes you proud of what you do?
- How do you help others in their transformation?
- What’s that impact that you help with when you shine?
- What’s that thing you’ll never go back to?
- What are your non-negotiables?
Here’s the thing
Articulating your purpose as Contribution → Impact can make your decision-making have less friction both internally (with yourself or your teams) and externally (with the prospects and clients). It also serves a a great filter to repel bad fits to work with.
Resources worth checking
Simon Sinek: Find Your Why
Philip Kotler & Christian Sarkar: Brand Activism. From Purpose To Action.
BTW, these are not affiliate links or anything.