Excerpt from Crew Blog
Posted by Leon Jacobs
A great place to start is with a recursive mind game I call the Benefit of game.
Take a blank sheet of paper and write down simply what your business does.
Ask yourself: What’s the benefit of that? and write it down below the first statement. Ask the same question about your answer and write below.
Keep going along the same pattern as many times as you can. Try not to give up until you have gone through at least seven iterations.
It really helps to go through this exercise in a multi-player environment. So play it with a friend, partner, or spouse. Even better, play it with a kid.
And play it with more than one person. You may find that central themes emerge but eventually you will find something that will not just inspire you and the people that work with you, but also make your business memorable and attractive to your audience—who are actually just made up of people like you and me.
If you’ve been honest in your questions and answers you should have a pretty advanced and deeply insightful statement blinking back at your from the bottom of the page.
Here’s an example of how this might play out for a bakery:
Proposed purpose: We bake artisanal bread.
What’s the benefit of that?
We fill your tummy like in the old days.
What’s the benefit of that?
We take away your hunger and make you feel nostalgic.
What’s the benefit of that?
We make you feel as safe as you did when you were a child.
What’s the benefit of that?
Purpose: Bread that is comfort
With a few simple steps you’ve gone from bread, to bread with a story and a unique difference. Now it is up to you figure out how to apply that in your business whether that means using it to steer your corporate identity, shape the interior design of your bakery, or, of course, influence your marketing strategy.
Whether you’re going through a major rebrand or sitting in your living room planning world domination it’s never too early to define your company’s core purpose.
Your purpose is the DNA of your business. It’s code that you inject into everything you do so that you come out with a unified shape, movement, and direction. Above all, your purpose is a way of saying you’re here for more than the money. You’re here to make a difference.
Posted by Leon Jacobs
A great place to start is with a recursive mind game I call the Benefit of game.
Take a blank sheet of paper and write down simply what your business does.
Ask yourself: What’s the benefit of that? and write it down below the first statement. Ask the same question about your answer and write below.
Keep going along the same pattern as many times as you can. Try not to give up until you have gone through at least seven iterations.
It really helps to go through this exercise in a multi-player environment. So play it with a friend, partner, or spouse. Even better, play it with a kid.
And play it with more than one person. You may find that central themes emerge but eventually you will find something that will not just inspire you and the people that work with you, but also make your business memorable and attractive to your audience—who are actually just made up of people like you and me.
If you’ve been honest in your questions and answers you should have a pretty advanced and deeply insightful statement blinking back at your from the bottom of the page.
Here’s an example of how this might play out for a bakery:
Proposed purpose: We bake artisanal bread.
What’s the benefit of that?
We fill your tummy like in the old days.
What’s the benefit of that?
We take away your hunger and make you feel nostalgic.
What’s the benefit of that?
We make you feel as safe as you did when you were a child.
What’s the benefit of that?
Purpose: Bread that is comfort
With a few simple steps you’ve gone from bread, to bread with a story and a unique difference. Now it is up to you figure out how to apply that in your business whether that means using it to steer your corporate identity, shape the interior design of your bakery, or, of course, influence your marketing strategy.
Whether you’re going through a major rebrand or sitting in your living room planning world domination it’s never too early to define your company’s core purpose.
Your purpose is the DNA of your business. It’s code that you inject into everything you do so that you come out with a unified shape, movement, and direction. Above all, your purpose is a way of saying you’re here for more than the money. You’re here to make a difference.
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