A powerful business model is consistent and coherent. A well-designed strategy takes the business forward by purposefully designing an ever better business model for the future of the business.

I’ve been working with businesses, and business leaders, for many years. Every business model has two sides, the creation of income (through by creating value for customers), and delivering the products and services efficiently. Those two sides are linked through the core of the business, it’s purpose.

Do you remember when you started your business? In that moment there is often real clarity about why. Yet in time, customers ask for things that the business can do, but are not aligned with the business purpose. You do them and then another request arrives that takes things further away. A few years of that and the core purpose of the business can become confused, or even lost. These questions may help to refocus and remind you of the real reasons for doing business your way.

• Why are you leading the business you are in?
• What difference did you really want to make? To whom?
• How will you know when you are working at your best?
• Why is it you, specifically, that has to do that work?

I’m not suggesting that a business that has evolved away from its core purpose is necessarily a bad business, but it’s probably not the best business it could be. Elements of it will be mediocre. If we are being purposeful, mediocrity has no place. That’s why (re)connecting with your business purpose is powerful. It does mean being honest about some of the mistakes and wrong turns along the way. Gathering the understanding means you can work with, and on, the business so as to create the business you really want.  Once that core purpose is properly (re)defined many other things also fall into place. I’ll come back to them in later articles.

Doing business “on purpose” is always more powerful.