Purpose was going to save the world. Then, somewhere along the way purpose got a bad name. Not because the idea is wrong, but because a lot of the execution was.

After all – as opposed to what? Not having a purpose? Every business has one. The question is whether it's defined, genuine, and doing any work.

When Simon Sinek’s ‘Start With Why’ took hold, organisations everywhere went looking for their why. Some found something real. Many found something that sounded meaningful in a workshop and rang hollow everywhere else. A men’s razor brand told men to be better people. Oil companies talked about a greener future. Fast fashion retailers discovered it cared deeply about the planet.

The backlash, when it came, was entirely understandable. But it was aimed at the wrong target.

The problem wasn’t purpose. It was purpose disconnected from what a business actually does – and, more importantly, how it actually behaves.

‘Why’ is only part of it

Sinek’s framework made purpose feel like a single question with a single answer. Find your why, and everything else follows. It’s a compelling idea, and not entirely wrong. But it’s incomplete – and that gap is what gave organisations the opening to claim a lofty purpose they had no business claiming.

A purpose is a reason for existing. But it’s more. It’s a sincere statement of what good your business does for the people it serves – through what you make, how you make it, and how you treat people along the way. That’s a  harder thing to define. Much harder to fake.

Jim Stengel, writing in Grow, argues that it’s a business’s essential reason for being, the higher-order benefit it brings to the world. This wasn’t a philosophical argument. He backed it up with ten years of research tracking 50 high-purpose brands against the S&P 500. The purpose-led brands outperformed the index, times three. Purpose, done properly, isn’t soft and fuzzy. It’s a driver of growth.

It’s ‘not social responsibility or altruism, but a programme for profit and growth based on improving people’s lives.’ For me, that’s a more useful frame. Purpose doesn't need to be charity. It’s the thing that connects what you do commercially with what you stand for genuinely. And the biggest why? Why people should care.

The test is behaviour, not statements

The brands that get purpose right don’t make empty noise about it. Patagonia’s purpose is visible in their product decisions – the materials they use, repairs programme they’ve run for decades, even campaigns that encouraged customers to buy less. You don’t need to read a mission statement to understand what they stand for. You can see it.

That’s the test. Purpose shows up in behaviour. It shapes decisions, (including uncomfortable ones). It’s the reason an organisation says no to something profitable, or yes to something difficult.

A performative purpose shows up in advertising. It’s the thing that gets announced, celebrated internally, printed on the wall of the reception – and then quietly ignored when it costs something – Looking at you firms that hot-dropped DEI with a change of government.

People can tell the difference. That’s why a backlash came.

Purpose isn’t the whole story

One more thing worth saying: purpose is one foundation of a brand, not the whole structure.

Simon says, start with ‘why’. Better than starting with what you sell. But, why is one part of the brand story.

Positioning, principles, and personality matter as much. A clear purpose with no sense of personality can make a brand feel earnest but dull. A strong personality with no clear purpose, a brand that’s entertaining but empty. The foundations work together. Neglect any one, and the rest start to wobble.

Which means the question isn’t really ‘do we need a purpose?’ It’s ‘what do we genuinely stand for, and does the rest of our brand reflect it?’

A harder question. A more useful one.

If you’re trying to work out where your brand stands – and whether your purpose is doing real work or decorative work – let’s talk.

‍

‍