FIGURE 3 PRIORITIZERS HAD AN EDGE ON REVENUE IN THE PAST YEARS Percentage who indicated how their revenue has changed in the past three years.
● FLAT/DECLINE ● 0-10% GROWTH ● 10%+ GROWTH
58
51
42
42
29
25
19
16
15
Prioritizers
Developers
Laggards
BASE: ALL SAYING ORGANIZATION HAS/IS WORKING ON A STATED OR IMPLIED PURPOSE. N=431
WHY PURPOSE BRINGS MEANING Management thinkers agree that conceptions about corporate meaning are evolving rapidly. “There is an increasing awareness that the purpose of a company has to be beyond shareholder value, and that this is not something that will cost your business but something that will enhance your business,” said Michael Beer, Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School and a director of the Center for Higher Ambition Leadership. Much of the discussion about purpose suggests that companies perform better if they have a clear sense of purpose. Purpose-driven companies make more money, have more engaged employees and more loyal customers, and are even better at innovation and transformational change. It seems to be easier to win the game when you care about the game. “The sense of being part of something greater than yourself can lead to high levels of engagement, high levels of creativity, and the willingness to partner across functional and product boundaries within a company, which are hugely powerful,” said Rebecca Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor at Harvard Business School. “Once they’re past a certain financial threshold, many people are as motivated by intrinsic meaning and the sense that they are contributing to something worthwhile as much as they are by financial returns or status.”
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