How Contexis Helps Companies Use Data To Prove The Power Of Purpose To Drive Performance

Contexis Ltd believes that when purpose drives strategy in an environment of trust it creates passionately engaged people, innovative cultures and clear and high-velocity management. | Contexis

One of the biggest problems companies have is accurately understanding the connection between Purpose and performance. I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with John Rosling, CEO of Contexis, to discuss how his company, a certified B Corp, is helping organizations use data and insights to unlock the power of purpose to drive performance, growth, and impact.

Rosling embarked on a journey that eventually led him to establish his groundbreaking company. “I started out working for great companies like Unilever and Diageo, working all over the world. The differences between global corporations and agile entrepreneurial businesses got me thinking and wanting to understand what makes a brilliant business,” he recalled.

From there, Rosling transitioned into entrepreneurship, founding several successful businesses. This path fueled his quest and curiosity to understand what truly makes a business exceptional. Through studying hundreds of companies and interviewing their CEOs, Rosling discovered that successful businesses share a common trait, “It became clear that what all successful businesses have in common is a deep, instinctive understanding of why they exist.” This understanding enables these businesses to harness the passions, abilities, and commitment of their people to achieve their goals.

But what’s more interesting is how the most successful businesses use their purpose to create a 'performance culture.' He simplified this culture into three words: context, trust, and ownership.

Firstly, context; the purpose must genuinely be the driver of everything the business does, creating exceptional cut-through and clarity in a complex and ambiguous world.

The second is trust; that is a culture where everyone feels completely safe to act on that clarifying purpose without fear of blame or looking foolish, creating extraordinary innovation.

The third is ownership; that is the sense that everyone in the organization believes that it is theirs, that they would die for it, and that creates extraordinary commitment and energy.

Rosling contrasted this with many organizations where purpose is small, context is confused, trust is absent, and ownership is replaced by hierarchy and control. Such cultures are slow to respond, slow to grow, and struggle to recruit and inspire greatness.

John Rosling, CEO of Contexis | SAM GAVINS PHOTOGRAPHY

The Problems Contexis Addresses

Contexis, in collaboration with research partners at the University of Cambridge in the UK, provides organizations in nearly 60 countries with scientifically robust data to measure cultural performance in every part of the business. This analysis helps companies understand what drives their culture to excellence or suppresses its potential and identifies what to do about it.

Central to that is measuring whether the purpose is real, providing clarity, meaning, and motivation to drive the business forward. Rosling noted, “The first question we are asked by many clients is ‘Is my Purpose working?’ But we are also able to understand every aspect of cultural performance and the causes that sit behind these. So the other question we are often asked is ‘Why is my culture not working?’"

And that could look like lots of things. It can be: why are my Millennials and younger people not engaged? Why are people not coming back to the office? Why is my talent turnover going up? Why is my strategy not landing? How can I engage my people to be more productive and enthusiastic? Why are my sales teams not working as well as they should?

All of these are cultural questions that ultimately go back to people's intrinsic engagement within a culture in which they feel safe to act and are willing to take responsibility. “And so, we are back to purpose and its cultural activation,” Rosling highlighted.

Purpose and Performance: The Data Connection

When asked about the correlation between purpose and performance, Rosling emphasized that commercial success is often the outcome of getting the culture right. “We find, in every organization, individuals who feel connected to purpose outperform colleagues by at least 25%. Conversely, those who feel disconnected underperform by around 50%,” he stated.

But there's something else. Just knowing the purpose is irrelevant. “Purpose must be activated; must be seen to be driving how decisions are made, in a place I feel safe, and where I feel able to take responsibility,” Rosling explained.

He shared his favorite chart, which shows a direct correlation between purpose activation and cultural performance. “Plot every organization in our database and you get a straight-line correlation. Purpose drives performance. What's even cooler is we can plot that same chart within an organization, and you see the same distribution for divisions, offices, or teams. The more connected to organizational purpose, the higher their organizational performance,” he noted.

Chart shows a direct correlation between purpose activation and cultural performanceIt has purpose activation on the Y axis and cultural performance on the X axis. | CONTEXIS

For a lot of clients, seeing how to increase joy, commitment, innovation, and retention by 25%, 35% is enough. But Contexis can show direct commercial return. “Recently, a skeptical CFO had us rank all his global teams by commercial KPIs against purpose activation. He was astonished that it was an almost direct map across. Or the global bank who found a 13% increase in revenue when they used our data to reconnect their sales teams to purpose,” Rosling recollected.

The Contexis Process

The process at Contexis begins with a detailed questionnaire developed by leading researchers in each area of organizational behavior around the world. “That’s a lot of questions. But having done this for so many years in so many organizations and countries, we now have a massive database and a remarkably predictive algorithm. For most people, once you've answered a few questions, the algorithm can do the rest for you,” Rosling explained. This allows for accurate ROI predictions for cultural interventions before they even start.

Depending on the organization, the questionnaire can be sent to everyone or a representative sample. Contexis then crunches the data and provides a consultation that helps the leadership team understand not just what is happening, but why, and what specific actions they can do about it and where. Organizations implement these actions, and Contexis conducts pulse surveys to track progress and report on value and return.

Contexis is a certified B Corp.

Case Studies: Transformative Impact

“Every organization is different. But one thing you can say is that every organization in the world has a group of people who feel connected to purpose. And they will have the highest alignment, clarity, commitment, and retention. If you can understand them, and then understand what's blocking everyone else, you're on your way to creating a high-performance culture,” Rosling shared.

One notable case involved a global manufacturing business. Initially focused on product quality and customer satisfaction, the company shifted to a purpose centered on carbon reduction. This new purpose resonated deeply with employees, especially on the factory line, leading to innovative solutions that not only saved energy but also reduced costs significantly.

So, what prevents this kind of engagement and purpose? Rosling finds it’s:

• Authenticity. If people don't believe it, they can’t engage with it. 

• Poor communication because purpose is imposed, not experienced.

• Low trust, particularly where there has been a lot of change. If people feel unsafe, they can't engage. Purpose can be a powerful way to rebuild trust. “Like the technology business where we found a deep distrust in a key layer of middle management. The solution was to coach leaders to have authentic conversations with their team to rebuild trust and bring the purpose to life,” Rosling highlighted. 

• Lack of relevance and responsibility. “We often find low levels of ownership, even at quite senior levels, with people attached to their team rather than the business, like the bank which had struggled to land a new strategy. We found low ownership amongst leaders who were attached to their service lines, not the strategy,” he added.

Measuring organizations through the pandemic also revealed that those with a consistent sense of purpose navigated the challenges more effectively. Rosling recalled a global retailer that thrived despite closing its stores, thanks to local decision-making guided by a shared purpose.

John Rosling's journey with Contexis illustrates the profound impact of purpose on cultural and commercial performance. His insights and data-driven approach offer valuable lessons for leaders seeking to create meaningful and high-performing organizations.