The Knowledgebase

Inspiration

Shared understanding

Bringing purpose to life

Exercises and questions to explore

Here are some questions and exercises to help you consider how far the purpose shapes strategy in your organisation and what your next steps might be:

  • Does the purpose direct and shape the strategy of the core business? Does it guide what the business does, stops doing and what it decides to invest in?
  • Most strategies include growth as a key aim – but growth to what end? What is growth in service of? What are the greater outcomes for society that  growth will bring? What might the unintended consequences of the growth be?
  • Is there a clear link between the purpose and strategic decision making and how widely is this articulated across the business?
  • Does the business have a separate CSR or sustainability strategy? How integrated are these with the core business strategy?
  • Is there a shared understanding of the purpose and how it informs strategy amongst the leadership team and the Board?

Exercise:

  • Identify 3-5 people in the organisation and ask them to also reflect on these questions?
  • Drawing on yours and their reflections on these questions, what might the next steps look like?
  • Drawing on this write up some talking points for a discussion with those leading the work on strategy

For further guidance you might find the following courses useful: