Enacting Purpose Within the Modern Corporation: A Framework for Boards of Directors

1. Great 10 minute read for a refresher on purpose. The report intends to provide guidance to boards and senior executives to be able to put purpose into practice.
2. Today there is a greater emerging awareness and understanding of “purpose as strategy,” as distinct from the more standard and now common focus on “purpose as culture.” The COVID-19 crisis and calls for the need to “Build Back Better” have simply accelerated this trend.
3. The article clarifies the confusion and disagreement about what purpose is and how it differs from value, mission and vision. 
4. Purpose articulates why an organisation exists, values articulate how the organisation behaves, mission sets out what the organisation does and vision describes where the organisation intends to have an impact in the longer term. 
5. The SCOPE framework offers five mechanisms that facilitate the translation of purpose intent into purpose action.
6. Purpose should be simple and convincing, it should connect with everybody in the organisation and transcend into strategy, actions and decision making processes. It should be owned all the way from the board level to the executive leadership team and employees of the business. Purpose should be linked with financial and non financial performance metrics. It should be exemplified by the leaders in the organization through effective leadership, communications and story-telling skills.

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