Leading your business with Purpose
Most of us are familiar with the very high failure rate of small businesses. It’s scary and sobering. It’s also preventable. Some of the reasons often given for failure include lack of ‘experience’, ‘capital’, ‘planning’, ‘a risk management strategy and contingency plan’, ‘vision’, ‘personal and fiscal discipline’, ‘cash flow’, ‘personal and professional networks’ (Your network is your net worth), ‘a clearly defined niche market’ and ‘life plan’ (knowing what you want for your life and building your business around it). Other reasons include poor ‘financial…
Where there is no vision the people perish (Proverbs 29:18) This is probably one of the oldest and most widely used quotes when discussing vision. Like me, most people take it out of context. But it is a strong reminder for business owners and leaders that without a well formed, fuelled and focused vision, our business will not flourish. Businesses and organisations die when they lose or abuse their vision. In the past two years I have worked with over 200 small business…
“Without purpose we would not exist… It is purpose that created us… Purpose that connects us… Purpose that pulls us… Purpose that guides us, that drives us, that defines us…. Purpose that binds us.” (Agent Smith from Matrix Reloaded) Sometimes things stick fast in our memories. They just never seem to go away. One such moment was 15 years ago in my first Power of Your Purpose Workshop based on the book The On-Purpose Person by Kevin McCarthy. By way of introduction to the…
The London Olympics are nearly here. “D” Day or Dream Day will soon be a reality for our competitors. I have watched many of the Aussie contenders interviewed and their passion, determination and commitment to their vision and goals have been both compelling and inspiring. I have also seen the recent documentary on TV where numerous Aussie Olympic swimming heroes and medal winners had their lives fall apart after achieving their goals, consequently also losing fame and fortune. This has caused me to ponder…
Most of us know when we are off-purpose. Our energy is drained, we regret the past, are unfocussed and unfulfilled in the present and anxious about the future. The personal and professional cost of being off-purpose is more costly than we can imagine. It costs us our peace of mind, rich and meaningful relationships, confidence, clarity and the deep satisfaction of experiencing life “now”. It costs us money too! A recent survey conducted by On-Purpose Partners (US) yielded the following results: How much money do…