The best purpose & problem statements

Purpose is what you’re in business for. Clarify your purpose, and the rest becomes much easier. 

Purpose is what should drive all actions and, if clearly defined, will help innovation succeed. You may have the best solution or endless capabilities, but if the purpose isn’t there, if the will isn’t there among your team, if the direction isn’t there, it’s going to be very hard work indeed. 

No innovation will ever succeed if not driven by belief from the organisation behind it. Ask yourself: 

1. Does this problem we’re solving fit in with what the company is doing now? (Mission)

2. In the future, will this problem we’re solving help change how you want the world to be? (Vision)

What I look for in a purpose statement is the following:

1. Clarity of direction and ambition of the change they want to see in the world (not just a woolly “make the world a better place”).

2. Immediately identifiable with their business/industry (i.e.  a shoe company shouldn’t be able to copy the purpose statement of a food business)

3. Rooted in the brand/business strengths or capability (i.e. obvious why they’re able to get behind that; this links to Prowess)

The ‘worthy’ ones:

• Tony’s Chocolonely
  "Together, we make chocolate 100% slave-free."

• Impossible Foods
  "To create delicious meat, made from plants, for a better planet." (I like that this is rooted in meat expertise and therefore targeting meat eaters rather than the vegan take-over)

• Dove
  "To help women everywhere develop a positive relationship with the way they look." (Could arguably be made clearer by mention of skin, but it’s still pretty specific, and they’ve boldly focused on women even though they do include men’s range) 

Not worthy-focused, but you can and should still have a purpose even if that’s not saving the world!

• Domino’s
  "To deliver hot, delicious pizza right to your door, fast."

• Google
  "To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful."

• Disney
  "To entertain, inform, and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling."