According to one study1 purpose-oriented firms achieve greater market share than their competitors and three times their average growth. They report 30% higher innovation and 40% higher employee retention. And brands that demonstrably implement their purpose post far higher growth than those that fail to do so.
But what does a ‘Reason for Being’ really mean? How do we develop a ‘Raison d’Être’ that gives sense to our private and professional lives and makes sense on a practical level? In this interview Laurent Laval, Managing Partner, Arthur Hunt Czech Republic, sheds light on a subtle concept.
“The idea of purpose isn’t new. In the 4th century BC, Aristotle defined it as the ‘final cause’ — the reason why something is as it is.2 This is why I prefer to express purpose as a ‘Reason for Being’. It motivates each of us, and organizations that want to direct their actions towards the common good.”
A Reason for Being sounds rather like a mission or a vision. These are already distinct strategic concepts. What does an RfB add?
“It goes far deeper. In individuals, a Reason for Being operates at the level of desire. From the organizational perspective, it is rooted in the firm’s core competence and how it implements this with and for others. It also links to the corporate culture, attaching people to the company and its values. So a well-defined RfB raises human engagement.”
What does a compelling Reason for Being look like?
“It is a compact sentence that facilitates choices and concrete decisions,” says Laurent Laval. “It has three components: our core talent, what we ideally bring to others, and the way in which we do this. These apply at both company and individual levels.”
A well-defined Reason for Being has measurable business benefits. Why is this? “It establishes coherence in action: people make decisions more rapidly and consistently. But all too often, the RfB is missing in action or underperforms because managers either don’t care about it or play at window dressing.”
Even if an organization has done a good job at defining its Reason for Being, is it realistic to expect this to be ‘lived’ by all its employees? “Yes, with the obvious proviso that not everyone will implement it or be impacted by it in the same way. People have differing drivers, backgrounds, roles, specialisms and nationalities. An employee’s personal purpose has to be harmonious with that of the organization, as I’ll discuss in a moment.
“And if an RfB is ultimately designed at organizational level, it must be translated and adapted to the frontlines — and not just in the linguistic sense. A Czech team must be able to apply the Reason for Being developed in the US Head Office to their daily local operations. To understand what it means for them. Embedding an RfB takes constant time and effort.
“Michelin’s Reason for Being is “Offer everyone a better way forward”.3 All its managers must conjugate this in a way that enables each employee to take concrete decisions, whether in purchasing, finance, or another domain. New employees need to be trained on it. It also drives employee career progression. Danone’s equivalent is “Health for the greatest number of people through food” . As early as 2000 Danone began to divest its alcohol brands, selling Kronenbourg to Scottish & Newcastle. Five years later it exited the sector for good.”4
„Most companies either lack a Reason for Being or have a pseudo version that doesn’t enable people to attach to the organization’s strategy in an unpredictable and uncertain world.”
The human factor: implications for talent strategy
Should an ‘RfB assessment’ be integrated into talent strategy? Should one pre-check the match between a candidate’s Reason for Being and that of their organization or team? “I always ask candidates to tell me their Reason for Being and whether I can share it with the hiring organization. But almost no executive who has walked through my door has been able to spontaneously express their RfB. This is something I systematically address.”
But there is good news: “Whether we are conscious of it or not, each of us has a Reason for Being. If we can surface and formulate it properly, we can make better decisions.”
What would Laurent Laval say to an executive whose Reason for Being is to keep my family healthy, safe and happy? “There are several problems with this. Firstly, it doesn’t express the executive’s core talent or how he or she will assure the family’s health, safety and happiness. It also contains too many factors.”
Furthermore, it has limited business relevance, no doubt? “A Reason for Being should apply to the private and professional domains. Better expressed, this one could translate into an attitude to management, for example.”
Can he give an example of a well-formulated Reason for Being? “I recently helped a senior marketing consultant to define her RfB: “opening space for people to access their innate wisdom.” It helps her to decide how she works, for example her approach to client meetings, and with whom she works. It’s a whole mindset.”
„It is a compact sentence that facilitates choices and concrete decisions. It has three components: our core talent, what we ideally bring to others, and the way in which we do this. These apply at both company and individual levels."
From paper to performance — bringing the Reason for Being alive
Crystallising a Reason for Being is a subtle art. How does Laurent Laval approach the task with executives, teams and organizations in the Czech Republic? “It’s about knowing yourself and others better. Let’s take board members as an example of a management team. By asking a carefully designed series of questions, we help each person express his or her individual RfB and communicate it to the others. A certain truth is established between people. Then, thanks to collective intelligence and co-development methods, we set the executives to work applying their Reason for Being to a live project.
„Executives tend to be well aware of their colleagues’ roles. But developing an RfB enables a deeper knowledge: they start to cooperate not only on the basis of job titles.”
“Executives tend to be well aware of their colleagues’ roles. But developing an RfB enables a deeper knowledge: they start to cooperate not only on the basis of job titles, but their contribution to others. We see real teambuilding and a more ‘human’ organization. People grow confidence in themselves and their colleagues. There is greater coherence in decision-making. This in turn creates a more coherent organization in terms of its consistency and efficiency.”
But defining our Reason of Being is only the first step
Next comes the work of bringing it alive: “It’s a dynamic process that is never ‘acquired’. It’s a constant confrontation with yourself: continually applying your RfB to practical examples and decision-making, alone and in your team.
“This process is facilitated when executives know who their colleagues really are. But it takes trust. Furthermore, it’s one thing to create trust in a team, another to preserve the general interest of the organization.
“At some point, an arbitrator is needed: the CEO who decides on that common interest. You need a pilot or captain, especially in difficult times.
“The subtle process that Arthur Hunt proposes is a daily, step-by-step discernment — defined as ‘judging things in a clear and rational way’.
“For example, we placed a CEO in South Bohemia. During the co-development process the employees identified a natural leader on whom the new CEO can rely. This is discernment. For a company in Brno our support has facilitated better communication and time management. It encourages people to take initiatives rather than expecting everything to come from the CEO. In Ostrava we helped a manufacturing company to discover its Reason for Being. All of a sudden, a switch was flicked in the entrepreneur’s mind, he saw his mistakes and started to make good decisions.”
Reason for Being:
Check questions for executives and top management teams
- What is your personal Reason for Being?
- How about that of your closest team members?
- To what extent does your organization’s Reason for Being support your daily decisions?
Sources
1O’Brien, D., Main, A., Kounkel, S., Stephan, A.R., (2019), ‘Purpose is everything: how brands that authentically lead with purpose are changing the nature of business today.’ Deloitte.
2Aristotle's four causes explain the underlying principles behind any event or phenomenon: Material Cause: The substance that something is made from. Formal Cause: What gives the matter its form. Efficient Cause: The reason behind something's existence. Final Cause: The reason why something is the way it is.
3https://www.michelin.com/en/group/purpose-values
4Reuters, (2007) CHRONOLOGY-Divestments by Danone since 1997
Credits
With thanks to Bernard Bougon, Member of the Public Ethics Department, Facultés Loyola Paris, and Laurent Falque, Co-Founder, L’Institut du Discernement Professionnel, for their valuable advice and support.
About Arthur Hunt
Opening new perspectives to foster the growth and confidence of people and organizations
Delivering services in Executive Search, Leadership Performance and Business Transformation, the Arthur Hunt Group was founded in 1991. With over 200 employees, the group operates in 20 European countries. Arthur Hunt has been active in the Czech Republic since 2000. Find out more about how we can support you in your talent challenges and help define your Reason for Being at individual, team or organisational level, by visiting our website.