How To Create A Framework For Purpose In 5-Steps

If you’re a marketer, you’ll be familiar with the term ‘the 5Ps’.

Now there’s a new set of ‘Ps’ driving organisational thinking that sits at the very core of what companies exist to deliver - and it all relates to the concept of purpose.

The word ‘purpose’ gets bandied around a fair bit. In the past couple of years we saw the changes announced to the Purpose of a Corporation by America’s Business Roundtable. Not long after this development in late 2019, the global pandemic hit - which has irreversibly disrupted the way we live and work, our values and our purchasing decisions. 

The hero in all of this? Purpose. 

Purpose asks the fundamental question of why companies exist, and ultimately what the world could lose if your company disappeared. It defines a company’s core reason for being and how it delivers and measures a positive impact on the world. 

It’s well documented that in the current global landscape, growth companies are purpose-driven and achieve more because of it. 

In this article by McKinsey and Company, they provide an overview of what the purpose 5P’s are, as well as a framework that companies can adopt to drive purpose, with an emphasis on the fact that purpose must be authentic for its to be a successful growth driver

A FRAMEWORK FOR PURPOSE: THE 5 P’S

Beyond the kick off workshop and the buzz or energy of early stage creation, purpose needs a framework to operate within so that it can seamlessly be embedded in all organisational decisions.

Purpose needs to be both emotional and rational and needs to resonate with all members of your organisation. This consistency ultimately drives decision making at all levels, create a values based culture and enables the company to endure changes that may arise both internally and externally in the passage of time.

Here is the basic framework of the 5Ps:

1. Portfolio strategy and products: the products and services your organization provides, and the “where to play” and “how to play” choices you make to best serve your customers

2. People and culture: the talent—and the talent management—your firm deploys

3. Processes and systems: the operational processes you adapt to meet purpose-related targets; the ways you ensure that behavior up and down your value chain is in line with your purpose

4. Performance metrics: the target metrics and incentives you use to measure what you wish to achieve, how your firm is progressing, and the way you create and distribute incentives to make your organization’s purpose tangible

5. Positions and engagement: how you align your external positions and affiliations to be consistent with, and consistently deliver on, the purpose your company has defined

You can read the full article from McKinsey & Co here.

References:

• https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/5-ps-marketing/

• https://cinnamon-rectangle-am4n.squarespace.com/config/pages/5db7d82f8af28129ea47525c

• https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/more-than-a-mission-statement-how-the-5ps-embed-purpose-to-deliver-value