This week's article was written for Kogan Page as part of the launch of The Alignment Advantage.
It focuses on the negative impact that hyper-focusing on your organization's core belief can have on your business strategy and performance.
Please click here to read the full article on the Kogan Page website.
Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite.
"Since Simon Sinek’s iconic TED Talk ‘How great leaders inspire action’ came to the awareness of business leaders and entrepreneurs back in 2009, we have constantly been reminded of the power of 'why'. But what if your focus on developing your ‘why’ – also known as purpose - is getting in the way of business performance? What if the secret to your entrepreneurial success stems from creating a robust strategy perfectly aligned with a cultural narrative that includes a core purpose?
Where did Apple start?
In case you haven’t seen it, the presupposition is that the difference between great organizations like Apple and the rest is that this organization started with a purpose or core belief. This helped Apple to engage people in a way that others couldn’t. It is a compelling proposition but isn’t entirely accurate.
I love Sinek’s early work. I love his model, the Golden Circle, and I love how he articulates it. However, there is one fundamental challenge. The notion that great organizations start with 'why' (purpose) rather than 'what' (strategic intent) simply isn’t true."
To read the rest of the article, visit Kogan Page.
To learn more about how you can gain the alignment advantage for your organisation email me at richard@twentyoneleadership.com