- Purpose strengthens innovation by focusing on meaningful impact beyond traditional corporate metrics. The prospect of revenue growth or a higher stock price does not resonate with humans in the way that purpose does. Purpose helps people to focus on the “big picture,” encouraging them to think beyond incremental product or service improvements and aim for more ambitious outcomes. One company, a global provider of medical technologies, cites its purpose “to restore people to full life and health” as being the driving reason behind dramatic product innovations.
- Purpose facilitates external collaboration. Great innovations are often the result of alliances that span organizational boundaries. Here, purpose can be the “common denominator” that allows organizations (even competitors, in some cases) to collaborate with each other (and their customers) on new solutions while achieving their common goals. For example, one global consumer products company essentially crowdsources 60% of its R&D pipeline, crediting its purpose of “making sustainable living commonplace” as the catalyst for the success of its open innovation digital platform.
- Purpose enables organizations to think differently so they can act differently. The EIU report asked executives which measures would effectively foster a culture of innovation in their organization. Of the respondents, 32.2% said that setting a tone from the top about purpose would be the most effective way of going about this.
Our disruptive environment has made innovation more of a business imperative than ever before. Placing purpose at the core of your organization’s innovation strategy allows you to focus efforts in the right areas and motivate your team to deliver disruptive results. When you underpin innovation with purpose, you have created a powerful, meaningful context that drives success.
Summary
Innovation is never easy. But purpose — by motivating your people and putting a focus on what really matters — can help make it happen.
