Businesses are big on mission statements and slogans.
They often start with phrases like, “We exist in order to…”
Often, these statements and slogans come up empty.
Cliché.
Insincere.
Do you have a mission statement?
Does your business have a slogan?
Why?
I've been thinking about this topic a lot lately.
It seems to me that if most businesses were honest, their mission statement would be something like this: “we exist to make a profit anyway we can, for as long as we can, until we get caught.”
Now, I'm not against capitalism. I am 100% in favor of profitable businesses.
But if the philosophy of your business is summed up in “making a profit anyway you can until you get caught”, I think you're in deep trouble.
On the other end of the spectrum, there are those organizations who struggle financially, but are out to “save the world”. Many non-profits fit this description.
Many of these organizations seem to think the profit motive is inherently evil.
If you think money is evil, chances are you won't have very much of it.
What if, instead, you adopted a completely outrageous, over-the-top explanation of why your company exists? Of why you exist?
What if your reason for existing was “to save the world, and make a profit in the process.”
What would happen next?
This seems like a good question worth exploring.