Firms that treat purpose as a foundation rather than a formality are building culture, talent and commercial advantage that others find hard to replicate, writes Ingrid Brown.
There is a conversation I have often with senior leaders in professional services, and it tends to start the same way. The firm has a purpose statement. It was developed carefully, it says something most of the firm’s partners broadly agree with, and it sits on the ‘about’ page of the website. When I ask what the firm does differently as a result of having it, the answer is rarely clear.
That is not complacency. In most cases, it reflects something more fundamental: genuine uncertainty about what purpose is actually for, and what commercial role it should play. The firms that have worked out the answer to that question are operating with a real advantage. The majority, by our research, have not yet found it.
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