In former AT&T CEO Anne Chow’s best-selling book, Lead Bigger, she describes how to inspire an actionable purpose statement. Chow is now a senior fellow and adjunct professor of executive education at Northwestern’s Kellogg Management School.
Here are brief excerpts from the book’s chapter on purpose:
What purpose will sustain you and your people through a commute in bad weather, or after your baby kept you up half the night?
I’ve found it helpful to go beyond the focus on what you’re doing. Ask yourself and each other: Why? Why you? What makes your how the optimal choice and different from current or future competitors in the market?
No matter the size of your team or the work you’re doing, you’re on a mission to reach a destination. . .. If you’re still struggling to express what you do differently, ask yourself, What if we didn’t exist? Who would care? And why?
This chapter provides several examples from large firms such as Ikea, Nike and Apple along with advice to use words that ensure actionability.
A CEO’s One Minute “Lecture”
If you don’t have time to read the book or take a course at Kellogg, here are virtually the same ideas from a credit union CEO. Now retired, this leader’s brief explanation is noteworthy because of the results the credit union achieved during his tenure.
Moreover his statement predates the professor’s work by 15 years. An example of wisdom in action, not in hindsight.
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE_3-ipOiPE)