Last week, we looked at some great reasons your organization should know its purpose, it’s “Why?” Purpose-driven organizations attract the right people, the best customers and outperform their competition. Let’s discuss how to find your Purpose. 

I like to start purpose discussions with three questions I learned from Andy Stanley’s church in Atlanta. Answer these questions to start your purpose discussions.

The Problem: What is the problem your organization exists to solve? No great organization exists to be just another player in the sea of competitors in your industry. Great organizations exist to solve a problem that might go unsolved if your organization did not exist.

Look back at your competitive advantage. What gifts does your organization have to uniquely solve a problem that must be solved? What problems drive your leaders crazy? It is often the problems that bug us the most that we are called to solve.

Ask how solving this problem will make the world a better place. A lot of us don’t like to mix altruism into our capitalism but we must. Businesses exist to meet a human need. Capitalism at its core, when done correctly, with integrity is a noble and altruistic endeavor.

For instance, Proctor and Gamble does not exist to make the greatest diapers and household products in the world, it exists to “touch and improve lives.” Procter and Gamble improves lives by solving problems most of us face daily.

My company does not exist to help leaders grow their organizations even though most of my early conversations with leaders revolve around growth. Fowler & Company exists to solve a problem I encountered early in my business career.

I’ve always been passionate about business and love learning about how to build excellent organizations. But, as my faith grew, I began to wonder how my passions for faith and business could come together to glorify God. 

The problem was that I could not find many examples of leaders who were great at business and at their faith walk. So, my organization was created to show Christ to the world through business excellence. To find great examples of leaders living out their faith in the marketplace and to teach others how to do the same.

We don’t work solely with Christians, but each of our clients is working to make the world a better place through business. They are living out their faith, their purpose, where they have been planted – in the marketplace.

The Solution: What is the solution to the problem your organization exists to solve?

Graco is the world’s largest single brand of juvenile products. If you have kids, you probably have multiple Graco products in your home. 

Graco’s story began in 1995 when Rex Thomas watched his wife reading a book on their front porch while their baby was in a swing. Mrs. Thomas had tied a string to the swing, so she could rock her baby while she read. 

That idea became the company’s first product – the Swyngomatic. A gift to moms to give them back time – something all moms desperately need. Graco’s purpose is to “cradle those who cradle them.” Their target market is not babies, but parents. Today Graco continues to thrive by solving problems for parents.

What is the solution to the problem you were created to solve?

The Reason: Why must this problem be solved now? You are probably not the first person to recognize this problem, but you might be the first to address it if you take action.

Solving this problem must be a burning desire in your heart. If it is not, you will lose your faith when the going gets tough and find an easier way to make a living. Living on purpose as an organization and as an individual is never an easy decision. You are rejecting the status quo in pursuit of fixing the problem God gave you to solve.

Living on purpose is not a recipe for an easy life but a well-lived life. Living on purpose, and making a purposeful living, will greatly increase your chances of looking back at the end of your life and knowing you did well. Making a purposeful living will greatly increase your chances of creating a successful business and a successful life.

Stick with us next week and we’ll turn your answers to these three questions into a purpose your organization can begin to live out.

Curt Fowler is an organizational growth expert and president of Fowler & Company, a business advisory firm dedicated to helping leaders create and achieve a compelling vision for their organization. He has an MBA in strategy and entrepreneurship from the Kellogg School, is a CPA, and a pretty good guy as defined by his wife and four children.

Have a business growth topic you’d like me to cover? Send suggestions to cfowler@valuesdrivenresults.com. 

Jason Smith is a reporter at The Valdosta Daily Times. He can be contacted at 229-244-3400 ext.1257.