My friend and mentor, Charlie Smith, is a prolific author. I’ve nabbed the following excerpt from one of his many articles available at the Library of Professional Coaching to share with you what Charlie means when he talks about a leader’s “noble purpose”.
Noble purpose is whatever someone says is an important contribution in service of others. My idea of a noble purpose may not be the same as yours. Social concerns are unique to individual CEOs, and have included the future of their state or community, energy independence, space, security, health and nutrition, family, poverty, sustainability, climate change, governance and other such issues.
Hylan Lyon, a friend and science advisor to three US presidents, says, “Noble Purpose is not simply an elevated sense of social consciousness. It is a pragmatic admission of what’s required to successfully pursue large markets over time and geography that encompass cultural differences. It is the recognition that when you explain your value proposition, much of its worth is embedded in your ability to recognize and respond appropriately to local value systems. The common values that hold across these diversities always relate to what all of the customers, in the whole, deeply care about, and how your product enables them to see the linkage.”
Our job is to align noble purpose and business success…