In the first two entries of this four-part series we focused on individual purpose. For the last two pieces, we’ll focus on corporate purpose.
Can a can of lubricant create a smile? According to Garry Ridge, the answer is an unequivocal yes.
Officially, the former longtime CEO of WD-40 Company spent his time managing the operations of the popular lubricant. But in his book on leadership, Helping People Win at Work, he insists the company’s efforts were in service of something much loftier: human happiness.
“Our products fix squeaks and get rid of smells and dirt,” writes Ridge. “In essence, we are in the quality-of-life business. By fixing squeaks and getting rid of smells and dirt in an almost magical way, we make people’s lives better and, in the process, create positive, lasting memories for our customers.”
If your initial reaction is that this all sounds a little corny, keep reading. The more you really think about it, and learn what’s behind his meaning, the more you start to realize Ridge may be on to something.
Sure, lubricants aren’t typically what comes to mind when most people think of “lasting memories.” But if you pivot slightly, Ridge’s point comes into clearer view: when something needs to be made right, WD-40 is there to answer the call.
It can help you fix a squeaky door, oil a bike chain before a ride with friends, clean a model plane engine you build with your dad, or grease a set of tools before a home repair project. WD-40 is a force for making things better.
And when they spoke with customers about the product, many of the sentiments they heard began with the words, “I remember when…,” recalling a moment where the product, indeed, created a positive memory.
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The company’s sense of purpose isn’t fancy or complicated, and that’s the point. Its radical simplicity fits WD-40 Company perfectly. Its single-minded focus may seem excessively narrow, but the opposite is actually true: it’s freeing. Everyone at the company, no matter their official role, knows what they’re working toward: helping people solve problems—and create smiles.
The best part? Employees seem to appreciate this laser-focused mandate and the freedom (and responsibility) that comes with it. The company is a frequent contender for annual Best Place to Work awards, and consistently receives sky-high workplace satisfaction ratings.
As WD-40 Company shows, having a clear, easy-to-understand business purpose is an essential ingredient for long-term success. Do you?
Finding Your Purpose May feel Cliché—But It Really Matters
I wouldn’t be the first to point out that the term “corporate purpose” has an image problem. In many quarters it’s morphed into an eye-rolling cliché, a term of business art up there with “think outside the box” and “paradigm shift.”
In fact, if you come across an organization that doesn’t tout its purpose or corporate social responsibility program, you may be confused and left wondering why they haven’t gotten with the program.
The biggest and most obvious downside to this trend is that just because a company touts its purpose, it’s no guarantee that management and employees actually embody it or that customers can even identify it; far from it. This is true no matter how lofty the social impact purports to be. Maybe even more so.
Many customers and employees are rightfully suspicious of pronouncements about corporate purpose. “Purpose washing,” where a company very publicly says one thing but behind the scenes does something entirely different, is endemic. Marketers are pulling every lever they can to put halos over their brands and companies, spinning a narrative of goodwill.
Employees and consumers aren’t buying it, though. A 2018 Porter Novelli study of corporate purpose shows that while 84 percent of consumers consider trust when purchasing, only 34 percent actually trust the brands they buy from, and 53 percent believe companies purpose-wash.
You can imagine the level of employee engagement at companies where team members don’t believe in what they’re doing or how their business operates.
And yet.
Despite the abuse and misuse of purpose, it still matters. A lot.
The solution is to acknowledge the critics’ (justifiable) misgivings—and then work hard to prove them wrong. Here’s how.
Move Beyond Purpose-Washing
Discover how your leadership can cultivate meaningful corporate purpose.
Be Honest
The most fundamental step for building a strong business purpose is to tell the truth. Aka, do the opposite of purpose washing. This may sound incredibly obvious. But the stats cited just above, as well as the nonstop news about companies whose hype far outstretched their reality (Theranos, anyone?), strongly suggests it’s not.
Even if your organization hasn’t been embroiled in some dramatic incident, chances are you’ve gotten caught up in smaller transgressions, like making claims that aren’t quite true.
The cynicism surrounding purpose washing is actually proof of purpose’s power. People want to believe that companies are doing good, or at least not doing bad. They feel angry precisely because their expectations or hopes have been dashed.
So when it comes to building a purpose, maybe you don’t need to think big. Modest and small—but truthful—may be more than enough. It’s certainly enough for WD-40 Company.
Lean on Your Strengths—and Admit Your Weaknesses
Just as building an authentic purpose requires being honest with the world, it also requires being honest with yourself. You do that by truly knowing yourself: the painful parts and the beautiful parts.
- Identify where your organization sits. Whether or not your company explicitly serves a greater good, identify the stakeholders that benefit from the work your company does.
Whose lives are made better by your company? Even seemingly minor products or services can improve someone’s life in some way. Where does your contribution fit into the story? Remember the old anecdote about the janitors at NASA, who would tell people, “I’m helping to put a man on the moon.” And they were. - What’s non-negotiable? At our core, we all have deeply held values or principles that guide our lives and decisions: compassion, integrity, service, ambition, getting results, earning money, being productive, etc. The same goes for companies. Think about the values your organization most holds dear and write how they came to be so important.
Are those values serving your organization today? Do some of them need to be reconsidered? Under what conditions are employees tempted to compromise any of them?
Once you figure out what you stand for, and what you don’t, you’ll be in a far stronger position to cultivate your purpose. It will also be easier, since you’ll be guided by reality, not fiction.
“Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.”
– W. Clement Stone
Resist Conformity
As mentioned above, it’s all too tempting for many leaders to jump on the purpose train to cash in. This is especially true when environmental impacts or social issues are at stake.
You can see this in how so many companies embraced and continue to embrace the “buy one, give one” purpose model pioneered by TOMS Shoes. My point isn’t to knock the model (though others have done that); it’s just to point out how easily companies follow each others’ leads.
Instead of copy and pasting someone else’s purpose, you’ll be far better off coming up with your own, no matter how awesome the hot new purpose out there seems.
WD-40 Company has stubbornly resisted the urge to jump on the bandwagon or pivot even an inch away from their core mission. Not everyone can or should be so unchanging. Conditions and industries change, and you need to react accordingly. But whatever purpose path you choose, make sure it’s uniquely yours.
Tip
Even if you arrive at a purpose that feels great, it may take some time to validate whether it’s right for you. Change usually happens slowly, so don’t give up at the first signs of resistance. Give yourself a fair chance. If you inevitably discover your purpose is ill-fitting, you’ll have useful information when you pivot to a new one.
Make Your Purpose Non-Negotiable
Refining your purpose and getting agreement from key stakeholders is an important step, but it’s just the first one. A purpose is only as good as the level of compliance to it. The moment it becomes a volunteer program, employees assume you don’t really mean it.
A 15-year longitudinal study we conducted of more than 3,200 leaders revealed that companies whose actions don’t match their words are three times more likely to have people be dishonest, because the say-do gap broadcasts to employees, “Around here, we say one thing but do another.”
For your purpose to have real teeth, there have to be consequences for those whose behaviors contradict or don’t align with the purpose. Leaders must be brave enough to confront issues or people that are putting the company’s conduct out of alignment with its purpose.
This means you may need to coach someone to redirect their behavior, or even remove them if they refuse to play ball. Business leadership teams need to see the culture their purpose creates as more important than any single individual’s contribution. (And that goes for you.)
Shaping a purpose that inspires people’s best work isn’t easy. Getting past sloganeering to mold this essential building block of your company takes courage. Having a purpose isn’t the same as having a purpose statement. You live a purpose; you recite a purpose statement.
Being purpose-driven doesn’t mean you have to set out to save the planet or change the world. It means you need to live up to your claims for why you are uniquely capable. For most organizations, just doing that is remarkable enough.
Developing (and Enacting) Corporate Purpose Starts With Leading From Your Truth
You’ve read how WD-40 Company thrives by sticking to its core mission, and how purpose isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a vital part of your organization’s DNA. Now it’s your turn.
At Navalent, we guide you in navigating the complexities of leadership and organizational change. Our experienced consultants bring real-world executive experience to the table, offering in-depth diagnostics and data-driven solutions tailored to your unique challenges.
With Navalent, you have the opportunity to:
- Create a resilient environment capable of adapting to change, setting your organization on a path to success.
- Foster a shared sense of purpose within your organization, inspiring your team to align with this vision.
- Shape the future leaders essential for your organization’s long-term success.
Don’t just aspire to lead—equip yourself to do it effectively.
Contact us today to get started.