I picked the title for this video very carefully. And the title is 'Cultivate Your Purpose'. I didn't say find your purpose, I said cultivate. I think that's an important difference. When I hear the terminology find your purpose, I think, "Oh my god. I have to find my one true purpose that I was placed on earth to fulfill." I don't know that I've ever found that purpose. I don't know if you'll ever find your purpose. Some people probably do. But for a lot of us, we have more than one true purpose. We have a lot of skills and passions. There are a lot of things we care about deeply. So, I like the word cultivate because it actually means to promote the growth of something, to work on its development. And here I want to suggest that you can promote the growth of your sense of purpose and work on its development. And a key way you do that, is by reflecting on your skills and strengths and the causes you care most deeply about. So, cultivating your purpose is about uncovering and honoring what you care about most in the world and what you're really good at. Now surprisingly, when we try to define our individual or organizational purpose it's often not easy and it's not automatic. So, I encourage you to try but don't worry if you can't get it exactly right, at least exactly right at first. So, what is your individual purpose? Again, at the deepest level it's a statement or really a sense of why you exist, the difference you want to make in the world through your work and other activities, and the overarching goal that fills you with determination and commitment. There's a nice quote from authors Nick Craig and Scott Snook, defining your purpose. And they say, "Your purpose is your brand. What you're driven to achieve, the magic that makes you tick. It's the strengths and passions you bring to the table no matter where you're seated. It's what everyone close to you recognizes as uniquely you and would miss if you were gone." So, when we think about your organization's purpose, it's quite similar, it's your organizations reason for being. It describes the fundamental benefits that your customers and other stakeholders gain from your company now and into the future. It's the difference your business wants to make in the world through it's products, services, or work processes. And it's this overarching goal that fills you and other members of your company or organization with determination, commitment, and pride. So, let's take a look at some examples of organizational purpose. I think what you'll see is, that when an organization is able to articulate its purpose clearly and succinctly it's very powerful. But as I said, it's not that easy to do. But again, we'll look at some of these examples and I would say that the best examples of purpose are the ones that are unique, that are sure, that are distinctive, they aren't generic. If you hear an organizations purpose or your own or anybody else's and you say, "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I've heard that a million times before." That's probably not a great statement of purpose because it's not as motivating and meaningful to us and to the organization. I want to start with CVS Health. CVS Health is a retail pharmacy chain with almost 8,000 stores in the United States. Its purpose is helping people on their path to better health. So a pretty short statement. Their purpose, helping people on their path to better health. When CVS articulated this purpose a few years ago, it stopped selling cigarettes. It stopped selling cigarettes in 8,000 stores in the United States. Here's what the CEO described as his rationale. He said, "Sometimes we all need to dust off our values and ask ourselves if we're truly living in concert with them. Put simply, the sale of tobacco products was inconsistent with our purpose." So, it's been interesting to look at how this decision has affected CVS health. Banning cigarette sales cost CVS two billion dollars in annual revenue. It costs them two billion dollars in annual revenue. But they have continued their commitment to this and they tell us that by making this commitment, by giving up cigarette sales, they've improved employee hiring and retention, employees are happier to work there. They've improved their brand and their sense of what this company stands for. They've attracted new business partnerships of other businesses that are eager to work with CVS. And according to their research, the declines in cigarette sales have actually had an effect throughout the market. So, cigarette sales have declined in states where CVS had a 15 percent or greater share of the retail pharmacy market. Suggesting that, people are smoking less, buying fewer cigarettes in states where CVS was a big part of the retail pharmacy market. So, a lot of power coming from CVS Health Statement of Purpose. Another example I want to use is Etsy. So, Etsy is an online marketplace that brings together sellers or makers and buyers from all over the world. So, folks buy and sell unique handmade goods on Etsy. Etsy has over 1.5 Million sellers from 83 countries, 86 percent of them are women, 95percent of them are working there shop from their home, and has 25 million shoppers. It's a big marketplace. Etsy's mission is to reimagine commerce in ways that build a more fulfilling and lasting world. So very broad but distinct mission, 'To reimagine commerce in ways that build a more fulfilling and lasting world'. So, let me move to another example, a company outside the United States. Roshan, a company in Afghanistan. Roshan is Afghanistan's leading telecommunications provider with over six and a half million active subscribers. And here's how Roshan CEO describes Roshan's purpose, "Our goal was to spearhead economic development and to facilitate greater social cohesion in Afghanistan. We believe that the ability to speak with friends and family wherever they are is a right that every Afghan deserves. Our mandate is to not only operate a best in class telecommunications network, but to also use communications as a catalyst for development in a country ravaged by 30 years of war." So a very large social mission through the telecommunications company. And last but not least, let me give you the example of Unilever. So Unilever is really a very highly regarded, very well known purpose driven company. Its purpose is quite succinct, "To make sustainable living commonplace." But I want to take a moment to talk about the larger purpose and what this means to Unilever. Here's what they say, "We are living in a world where temperatures are rising, water shortages are more frequent, food supplies are increasingly scarce and the gap between rich and poor increasing. Populations are growing fast, making hygiene and sanitation even more of a challenge. At Unilever, we can see how people the world over are already affected by these changes. And the changes will pose new challenges for us too. As commodity costs fluctuate, markets become unsustainable and raw materials harder to source. We believe that business must be part of the solution. Sustainable equitable growth is the only acceptable business model. Our vision is to grow our business while reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact." I hope these examples give you some sense of the power of knowing your purpose. It is quite difficult to articulate your own personal purpose and your organization's purpose. I think you know you've captured your purpose, whether it's your personal purpose or your organizational purpose, when you have this feeling of, "Oh, yeah. I got it. That's it. That's right. That's me. " And you feel energized or excited. Some articles I've read about finding "finding" your purpose say, "You know you have it when it makes you cry." I'm not going to suggest that you have to keep working out your purpose till it makes you cry, but your sense of purpose should be energizing and exciting and motivate you to action. To help you cultivate your personal and organizational purpose, we've created a worksheet that just invites you to reflect on what is your purpose? What is your organization's purpose? I also want to encourage you to watch this short video with Derek Handley. Derek is a purpose driven leader, a purpose driven entrepreneur, author, speaker, and impact investor. And I had the opportunity to interview Derek and talk with him about how he cultivated his personal sense of purpose and how others can cultivate their sense of purpose too.
