Knowing Your Purpose and How to Turn That into Company Success 

In a world where technological advancements claim to revolutionize the business landscape every few years, it can be easy to overthink how best to steer your company towards success. However important technology may be in twenty-first-century business, it is no replacement for sound principles. Like any complex structure, a business is only as sturdy as its foundation and, naturally, this foundation requires periodic maintenance if it is to stay strong. In practical terms, this means returning to basics and reviewing your company’s raison d’être at regular intervals.

What is a Company?

The word “company” arrives in English from the Old French Compagnie, meaning “society, friendship, intimacy,” which itself arrives via the Late Latin companio, literally “bread fellow, messmate,” from Latin com “with, together” + panis “bread.” Thus, your company is a society of friends with whom your break bread. And as is true of all societies, the force that binds your company together is shared purpose.

This powerful reminder underscores the fact that commercial success depends not on pursuing financial goals but on supporting people, namely, your team members and the customers you serve. Money, it mustn’t be forgotten, comes second and is a tool to ensure your company’s survival rather than an animating force behind its existence.

The Power of Purpose

Kahlil Gibran, the author of The Prophet, once famously stated, “Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy.” By this, Gibran meant that works’ purpose is to contribute lovingly to one’s community. When approached with this intention, productivity comes naturally; meanwhile, when undertaken out of a simple desire for more, work becomes a counterproductive action that detracts from the social good.

Nurturing a company culture driven by purpose instead of material desire is easier said than done, of course. Getting started means first discarding antiquated leadership styles that employ a top-down authority model. Instead, working with purpose means working together which, itself, means involving your team in all stages of your company’s production. Leaders who achieve this all display some variation of the following five attributes:

1. Authenticity: Purpose-driven leaders allow themselves to be vulnerable as doing so is essential to human connection.

2. Value-Driven: Having values is important but living them is even more so.

3. Clear-Minded: Enduring leaders remember that, fundamentally, they work for people, not money.

4. Democratic: Connected to the above, successful leaders work to support, not coerce their team.

5. Purposeful: You can only run a purpose-driven company if you, yourself, practice purposeful work.

At the Law Firm of Christopher W. Dumm, purpose drives our every decision. Our goal, beyond all else, is to ensure every member of our community gains the peace of mind of a well-planned estate so that they may look toward their life’s horizon with hope instead of worry.

To learn more about how we achieve our purpose and ensure your assets and well-being are protected, do not hesitate to reach out either by calling us at 417-623-2062 or using the contact form on our website.

Contact the Estate Planning Attorneys at the Law Firm of Christopher W. Dumm