Being the best kept secret in town is bad for business.
Sure, as customers we like to find products, services and businesses before others do. It’s exciting to be an early adopter.
Sometimes however, no matter how good what we purchase is, we may not always tell others about it. Because it’s our little secret!
But as a business you want to be known and talked about positively. And quickly!
Author and speaker, Simon Sinek famously stated “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.”
No matter what your business trades in, consumer demand for purpose-driven brands is increasing.
Companies who know and live their purpose to amplify their positive social and environmental impacts are maximising their revenues. Driven by modern consumer sentiment.
So even if your business is getting known for what you do, where is your purpose being heard?
Well it should be heard everywhere!
It should be heard by your customers, your staff and your investors. Everywhere.
For a purpose to be strong within a team or business, it needs to be reinforced and driven through constant narrative.
Not just be the leader or leadership team, but everyone.
People will experience a deeper connection with your business purpose when they can articulate it and share it with others.
If people keep stories untold, people won’t embrace what you do or why you do it.
Finger pointing increases and internal discussions may occur within the business, moving towards the ‘if only others knew what we do, rather than blaming us’ stage.
Inevitably, ‘communication issues’ will be raised.
Team performance has already dropped meaning valuable time and money will be wasted on fixing it.
This is common and I’m sure you have experienced this yourself.
We want others to understand ‘why’ we do what we do, and invite them to join you.
If people don’t know your purpose, it’s up to you to tell them.
Marshall Ganz of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, released a public narrative worksheet in 2007 called “What is Public Narrative: Self, Us & Now” which provides a simple framework to support businesses in telling their purpose’s story.
- A story of Self: Why were you called to motivate others to join you in this action?
- A story of Us: To what values, experiences, or aspirations of your community (ie. team, business) will you appeal when you call them to join you in action?
- A story of Now: What do you hope to inspire others to take action on?
Using Ganz’s framework you and your team need to commit regular time to hear each other tell and improve your Self, Us and Now stories.
Practice indeed makes perfect.
Once you know your purpose, your story, and have practised telling and sharing it, it’s easy.
You will find others who want to be part of it, contribute to it and tell others about it.
Storytelling is the next key pillar of commitment for an aligned purpose within a business and ensures you will not be best kept secret in town.
Have a great day!
Ivan Spyrdz
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By the way, I’ve released an e-book called “MAKING PURPOSE YOUR BUSINESS – How to attract, build and keep high performing business teams (even when they’re remote)”. This e-book provides information and insights on why purpose is important to your business and the 6 Key Pillars of Commitment you need to commit to today to drive your performance and success. I invite you to grab a copy by downloading it free here.
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