By Benoit Garbe
Purpose-driven business has been at the forefront of corporate strategy for over a decade, celebrated for its ability to unite stakeholders and drive meaningful change. Back in 2011, I had the honor to work alongside Jim Stengel, on his book, Grow: How Ideals Power Growth and Profit at the World’s Greatest Companies, the study and book made a compelling case for purpose-led growth, highlighting how businesses with a clear brand ideal
outperform their competitors. This foundational idea continues to resonate as companies navigate the challenges of recalibrating purpose for modern demands.
However, many companies have expanded their purpose to encompass broad objectives, diminishing its clarity and, in many cases, its credibility. Today, many leaders find themselves grappling with the risks of purpose overreach—fragmentation, dilution, and accusations of inauthenticity—at a time when delivering sustainable topline growth has become increasingly critical.
This is not the moment to abandon purpose but to recalibrate it. Purpose must return to its original role: acting as a company’s north star. Properly defined, it should articulate a clear reason for being, inspire innovation, and guide execution while remaining deeply rooted in a business’s DNA. The challenge is to realign purpose to simultaneously serve stakeholders and drive measurable business impact.
Clarity of Purpose: Purpose must be a beacon, providing clarity of intent and tightly aligned with the company’s category and competitive set. A well-defined purpose serves as a decision-making filter, determining what is in and out of scope for a business.
LEGO exemplifies this. LEGO's purpose, "to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow," has been instrumental in guiding its strategic expansions and sustaining robust financial growth. Over the past five years, LEGO has achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14%, significantly outperforming the global toy market's 2% CAGR during the same period. This growth underscores the power of a clear and authentic purpose in driving both innovation and financial success. This alignment with LEGO’s purpose ensures its ventures stay true to its DNA while maintaining relevance for current and future generations.
In contrast, when purpose expands into vague or overly aspirational statements, it risks creating ambiguity and distraction, a challenge many organizations have encountered.
Alignment and Execution: Purpose is only effective when it is embedded deeply across an organization. It must be operationalized through daily actions, empowering teams to make decisions that align with the company’s mission. However, the recent past has shown how purpose can lose alignment, as leaders and teams interpret it through their own lenses, based on their respective agendas and KPIs, often leading to fragmentation and confusion.
Oura is a health technology company renowned for its Oura Ring, a wearable device that tracks sleep, activity, and overall health metrics. With an estimated revenue of $250 million in 2023 and backed by investors like Forerunner Ventures, Oura has rapidly established itself as a leader in the health tech market. Initially focused on sleep tracking, its mission to “empower individuals to own their health” has driven innovations like readiness scores and women’s health solutions. While this broader focus has fueled growth, it also risks overextending the organization’s focus. To scale effectively, companies like Oura must ensure clarity and unity across teams, shared understanding, and constant reinforcement of the mission.
The lesson? Purpose should inspire innovation but must remain actionable and coherent within the organization. Disciplined alignment ensures that every part of the organization operates cohesively, driving purpose into measurable outcomes
Executional Excellence: The final pillar of purpose is execution. Even the best-defined and aligned purpose can fail without disciplined, high-impact delivery. Execution is about focus, doing fewer things better, and scaling efforts that drive real change.
Tony’s Chocolonely serves as a strong example. Built on a mission to make chocolate production 100% slave-free, the brand has used its purpose as a lever for differentiation. Over the past decade, Tony’s net revenue has grown from approximately €2.4 million in 2011 to an estimated €225 million in 2024, demonstrating its ability to scale purpose-driven growth while expanding its footprint in Europe and the United States. Tony’s recent price increase demonstrated this commitment in action: explaining to consumers that the increase was necessary to maintain ethical sourcing and supplier support. This move showcased the power of consumer trust and loyalty, built through years of purpose-driven consistency.
The takeaway? Great execution requires ruthless prioritization, coordination, and long-term commitment. Brands must stay the course, avoid the temptation of shiny new initiatives, and ensure that every action reinforces their purpose.
Conclusion: Purpose is not a relic of a bygone era, nor is it a liability. When recalibrated with clarity, alignment, and focus, it becomes a foundation for resilient leadership and enduring growth. In today’s fast-changing world, the challenge for leaders is to recalibrate their approach to purpose:
Define with clarity: Ensure purpose is specific, rooted in the business’s DNA, and relevant to its category.
Embed with discipline: Align teams around a common purpose, empowering and guiding them to make decisions that serve the mission.
Deliver with focus: Concentrate on fewer, high-impact initiatives that scale and drive measurable outcomes.
The businesses that rise to this challenge will not only navigate today’s complexities but will define the next era of leadership—building stronger brands, inspiring loyalty, and delivering meaningful impact for all stakeholders.
Benoit Garbe is founder and President of QUINT Advisory, a growth consultancy dedicated to helping CEOs and executives deliver topline growth and value creation in consumer-driven markets.
Comments