The 7 Elements Of A Great Purpose Statement

Written By Afdhel Aziz

Having a clear and compelling purpose is now becoming increasingly essential for any company or brand which seeks to attract talent, inspire its community and out-innovate its competition. 

At its best, a purpose can act as a North Star, a guiding light that allows everyone in the company from the CEO to the newest employee to understand what they are all there to accomplish and provide a filter for daily decisions. It should be a mantra that represents the DNA at the core of your company.

Here’s the simplest and best definition of a purpose I’ve found:

“A higher-order reason for a brand’s existence that goes beyond making money and adds value to society.”

And for the sake of clarity, here's how we define the various elements of a purpose-driven brand at our brand purpose consultancy Conspiracy of Love.

Note: Even though the two terms have been used interchangeably, in our framework a purpose (the “why”) is distinct from a “mission” (a big bold step that is part of the 'how')

But what are the elements of a great brand or company purpose statement? Crafting one is as much a creative act as a strategic act. I am a geek about purpose statements and I collect them like other people collect stamps. Based on my work with my brand purpose consultancy Conspiracy of Love (which works with Fortune 500 companies to discover and ignite purpose), and the insights I get from this Forbes column “The Power of Purpose,” here are 7 elements of a great purpose statement.

The Definitions of a Purpose Vision Mission Value Positioning Statement

1. It is inspiring.

A great brand purpose statement should send a shiver down your spine when you hear it. It should be memorable, aspirational, inspirational, even poetic to be the spark at the heart of your company which keeps the engine running.

My all-time favorite statement is from the Steve Job’s era Apple. Are you ready?

“At Apple, we create tools for the mind that advance humankind.”

Wow. In that one sentence is packed such ambition, such scale, such determination. (It even rhymes, for Pete’s sake).

By the way, you won’t find that purpose statement on the Apple website anymore. What you will find is this:

“To empower creative exploration and self-expression.”

It’s ok. But you could apply that same purpose statement to Adobe. It doesn’t have the majesty of the original which befits a company the size and importance of Apple.

In fact, that may explain why while the company has dominated in the creative tools space, it has lost that sense of world-changing ambition that it once had. I'm waiting for the Apple Car, you guys.

Another great example is Adidas. 

“Through sport, we have the power to change lives”

What is awesome to behold is how that Adidas is now manifesting that idea in areas such as sustainability (the Ocean plastic sneaker which is selling 11 million pairs a year or the FutureCraft Loop, the world’s first circular economy sneaker), as well as helping to champion the role of women and girls in sport).

Contrast this with Lyft’s (a company I love by the way):

Improve people’s lives with the world’s best transportation.

Hmm. Very practical but a bit flat right?

2. It should be brief.

A good purpose statement should be as short and sweet as possible to aid memorability. You should be able to stop any employee in the corridors and ask them, and they should be able to recite it from memory.

For instance, here’s Red Bull.

“To give wings to people and ideas”

The “people” part is self-explanatory: the snowboarders, the skateboarders, the extreme sports enthusiasts that are its core base. But the “ideas” part is also very clever: it allows them to move into territories like music (with the phenomenal Red Bull Music Academy) as well as social entrepreneurship (the little-known social impact vertical Red Bull Amaphiko which I covered in this story here).

Here’s Zappos:

“We deliver wow”

It covers this insanely customer-centric company’s zealousness in making sure that the experience of shopping with Zappo’s is one that elevates it from the purely functional to a joyous, delightful one. Every word matters in a purpose statement — and what a great word “wow” is to convey so much in three letters.

Here’s Google’s:

“To organize the world’s information”

Pretty scientific and dry, but consider the size of the task versus the brevity of the intention and it packs a lot into that phrase.

Or consider Netflix

“To entertain the world”

Simple but awesomely ambitious in its scope. The whole world. It also doesn’t tell us “how” it’s going to entertain the world, leaving the company open to exploring channels beyond streaming. Netflix VR headsets someday?

Contrast this to Disney’s which I would give a B-:

“to entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling.”

I get it. It covers everything from entertainment (Marvel, Disney, Pixar, Lucasfilm) to information (ESPN, Vice) and there is no doubt that the company’s super-power is ‘unparalleled storytelling’. But it sounds like it was written by a committee.

My all-time worst in terms of brevity? See if you can guess which company this is.

“To be Earths most customer-centric company, to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online.”

Any guesses? Yes, it’s Amazon. I would craft something that is more about their relentless ability to get products into your hand in an almost magical way. How about:

“We exist to empower anyone to buy anything, anywhere, anytime.”

3. It should have a role and an outcome. 

(h/t to the awesome Ben Cleaver, one of our Co-Conspirators for pointing this out).

Many great purpose statements have a “role” for the brand — and an ‘outcome’ it wishes to see in the world.

For instance, here is outdoor retailer REI’s purpose statement:

“To awaken a life-long love of the outdoors.”

Really beautiful. REI’s role is to “awaken” — to spark, to inspire- with the outcome being a passion for the natural world. And what do people with a passion for the natural world need? Camping and outdoor equipment.

But it goes beyond the pragmatic. Consider REI’s “Opt Outside” company which challenges people to forego Black Friday and get into nature on that day-now increasingly with an emphasis on finding ways to help combat the climate crisis. A good purpose statement can resonate on multiple levels: commercial, emotional, social, in some cases even political.

Another favorite of mine is Barbie’s (Yes, Barbie’s). This was Barbie’s original purpose statement dating back to 1959:

“To inspire the limitless potential in every girl”

This was crafted by her creator Ruth Handler (whose daughter’s name was…Barbie). Somewhere along the way through, the brand lost its focus on the ‘every’ part which lead it to losing its cultural cachet and being condemned by feminists as being dangerous. 

But that very focus on “every” is what lead to the brand’s reinvention as the most diverse and inclusive doll on the planet now (with Barbies in every shape, size and color)as documented in the terrific documentary on Hulu “Tiny Shoulders”).

Today Barbie’s role as inspiration is coupled with a desire to create positive role models for every girl on the planet, regardless of what they look like.

Or for instance, Walmart’s which is simple and powerful:

“To help people save money so they can live better.”

A humble but noble aspiration is baked into this statement. And when you multiply this by the 140 million customers who visit a Walmart every week, you can see the enormous impact that this has on people’s quality of life, and the American economy in general.

4. It may have a tension that it is unresolvable. 

Sometimes a great purpose statement may be wrestling with two conflicting intentions that create a space for continuous innovation and growth.

Some examples of great purpose statements that fall into this category:

Chobani

“To make better food for more people”

I love this. Baked into this statement is two conflicting intentions: to make ‘better’ food (food that is higher quality, better ingredients, organically and ethically made) but for the most amount of people (democratizing access so that that good food doesn’t have to come at too high a premium). Resolving that tension can create real energy and innovation at the heart of the brand. 

(For more on Chobani’s journey, read my interview with their CMO, Peter McGuinness here).

There is a similar tension in IKEA’s purpose statement (which also has delightful Swedish overtones):

“to create a better everyday life for the many people”

This tension is imbued in IKEA’s mission to make durable, sustainably-made furniture and homewares- but at the lowest possible cost. Again, this forces innovation, leading to IKEA’s amazing work around becoming a circular economy company fit for the 21st century.

5. It strikes a balance between aspiration and precision.

A good purpose statement needs to be aspirational but not vague. It needs to be precise but not limiting, allowing room for a company to grow.

A vague purpose statement is “to help make the world better.” It is lofty but meaningless, a platitude that serves no one.

I love Lego, and the company’s purpose statement is a great example of how to strike this balance:

“To inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow”

It grounds the brand in always seeking to help children experience the transformative power of play. The verb “build” beautifully evokes the core product, the brick that is at the heart of the brand. This purpose is effortlessly manifested in everything from its work with Sesame Street to help Syrian refugee kids to the ridiculously successful movies (which grossed more than a billion dollars worldwide and lead to a 25% increase sales as well.)

Similarly, SAP is also another company I admire. Their purpose is manifested as follows:

“Help the world run better and improve people’s lives”

The underlying core product truth- the technology platforms that SAP creates are the foundation on which a trillion dollars worth of global business runs-is self-evident in this statement, and it’s great to see this company using its scale in the supply chain world to help tackle problems like modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

It also answers the question, can a B2B company have a purpose? Yes, absolutely it should. It just needs to consider not only the end-user or consumer, but also it’s more immediate customers as part of that eco-system of stakeholders that need to be taken into account with that statement.

6. It can either be a “general purpose” or a “social purpose” statement.

This is probably one of the questions I get asked the most. Does every company need to have a social or environmental goal baked into their purpose?

Some companies are “general purpose” companies, meaning that their core purpose statement does not have to manifest itself as having a social or environmental impact. (Note: this does not mean they can’t still tackle them as part of a wider portfolio of initiatives-it just means that that’s not their core reason for being).

Some companies are “social purpose” companies, which means at their inception or at their core, they were built to solve a social or environmental issue.

Let's take a look at the two types.

A great example of a “general purpose” company is Microsoft, a company that I’m a huge fan of. Their purpose after the arrival of CEO Satya Nadella was defined as follows:

“To empower every person and organization on this planet to achieve more”

By the way, it’s a great example of a company that has authentically and successfully re-defined its purpose for a new era, a story you can read more about here. It shows that even when you don't start with a purpose at your inception, it is possible to find one that works if it is done thoughtfully and inclusively.

This purpose can manifest itself both in general ways (it’s cloud computing business for instance) but also in socially impactful ways mainly around disability (it’s X-Box adaptive controller for kids with disabilities, it’s relentless drive to make Microsoft Office accessible, it’s ground-breaking Seeing AI applications which help the visually disabled use their phone to see).

Another great general purpose statement I love is from Airbnb:

“We help people to belong anywhere”

Simple, clear, concise. It reflects the brand’s belief that you should travel like a local, not as a tourist, and experience a sense of community that a conventional hotel experience gives you.

But baked into that statement is also commitment: for instance, ensuring all of its users sign a non-discrimination clause which prohibits anyone being denied on the basis of their race, religion, color or creed. 

And a terrific example of a social purpose manifestation is Airbnb Open Homes, a program which provides free shelter to refugees and victims of natural disasters, with plans for 100,000 zero-dollar listings available for non-profits to use.

Now consider a brand with a 'social purpose' built into its core: Tesla

This is Tesla’s original purpose statement.

“We exist to accelerate the planet’s transition to sustainable transport.”

First of all, I love the use of the word “accelerate” — a subtle nod to Tesla’s role as a car manufacturer. Using language that is native to the category you are in is a great way to make an intuitive connection between a product truth and a higher-order goal.

But then look at the outcome it seeks to create: to end the era of fossil-fuel transport on this planet. A huge environmental ambition there.

Similarly, one of the company’s I admire the most, Patagonia, has for decades had a clear focus on the planet:

“Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

These are social purpose statements that befit companies that have that as their core reason for being. Whatever the financial outlook of the company, that is the central goal of the company, not an ancillary one.

7. It can evolve with the times. 

Finally, a great purpose statement does not have to be static. It can evolve as the company grows, or the context around it changes, leading to a need to re-frame what it stands for.

Remember, Tesla’s original statement?

“We exist to accelerate the planet’s transition to sustainable transport.”

But here’s how Tesla’s purpose statement reads now:

“We exist to accelerate the planet’s transition to sustainable energy.”

Did you notice what word changed? “Transport” changed to “energy.” With that one word, Tesla signaled they were no longer just interested in the Tesla car in your garage, but also the Tesla solar roof tiles on top of your house- and the Tesla Powerwall battery which stored the energy they collected (only to be used to charge your car). 

With that one word change in their purpose, Tesla announced that they were no longer just a car company: they want to be the “Apple of clean energy,” and own the interconnected ecosystem in your life. Their competitive context shifted to include not just other automotive manufacturers but also all power utilities. That’s the power of a finely crafted purpose statement to signal intent and clarity.

Let’s look at Patagonia’s original statement again:

“Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environmental crisis.”

This has now changed to the much more urgent and provocative:

“Patagonia is in business to save our home planet.”

It reflects this incredible company’s determination to raise its game even further to meet the crisis we are all facing which threatens to make humanity extinct. (Read more about the decision here).

I will end by saying that a great purpose statement is absolutely meaningless if it is not backed by solid, measurable, commitments. Words without action don't mean anything. As our friend Aaron Griffiths memorably said, “You have to put your money where your mission is.”

A great example for companies to follow should be Procter and Gamble — read how they've turned purpose into solid commitments in my interview with P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard here.

I hope this article can help inspire you as you consider your own company or brand purpose statement, as a crucial starting point to unlock potential.