In my post last week on 9/3/24, I asked the question a lot of business experts say that owners should consider: “What is my PURPOSE in Business?” I noted that the Bible (in Genesis 1) teaches that God created us in His image so that we would “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” (Genesis 1:28)
I concluded that when Christian company owners answer the question “What is my Purpose in Business?”, they should begin their answer with something like this:
“My purpose in business is to use the image-of-God abilities of my team so we work together to contribute to human flourishing. I do this by __(fill-in-the-blank)__”
(By the way, I am not saying that the sentence above must be included in a written purpose statement. My point is more that in our thinking as Christians, we clearly recognize how a business fits into God’s plan for mankind.)
If you agree with my reasoning here, the next question is what to “fill-in-the-blank?” The answer is that there is an almost-infinite variety of God-pleasing ways to contribute human flourishing. Some owners will fill in the name of a product here: “We contribute to human flourishing by providing people with nourishing food…or warm clothing…or toys for children.”
Other owners will fill-in a more detailed “purpose” statement: “We contribute to human flourishing by providing good starter jobs for teenagers.” An accountant might say: “We contribute to human flourishing by helping business owners keep accurate financial records and comply with tax laws.” A furniture manufacturer might say: “We contribute to human flourishing by helping furniture stores make a profit.”
Business author Pat Lencioni makes the point that different owners in the same business may have entirely different purposes in mind.* One motel owner may be in business “to help families take vacations.” Another may have the goal to “provide refreshing hospitality to weary travelers.” Still another may be in business to promote tourism in a local community.
Finally, a company owner may have more than one “purpose” in mind for owning a business. When I took some time 5 years ago to identify the purpose of my consulting practice, I ended up with a list of 4 items:
1) glorify God with my attitude, advice, service, and training content
2) be a good steward of my gifts, knowledge, experience, and remaining days
3) provide for Ray & Irene to live and give for the rest of our lives on this earth
4) coach a select handful of clients to “outstanding”
I intend to re-write my purpose statement soon as a result of my Genesis 1-3 study, but I expect to again end up with a list of several things.
Lord willing, I’ll conclude this series of “Purpose” posts next Monday with some thoughts on how clarity of purpose helps a business in alignment, goal-setting, and decision-making.
*Lencioni discusses “purpose” in The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni (Josey Bass, 2012) pp. 82-90.