The Ultimate Purpose

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The notional reason — long buried by screeds of wishful yogababble — why everyone, in any role, in any time or place, shows up for work, with which, for a sainted few, the putative yogababble reason will be magically congruent: to create value for the owner.

Define “owner” broadly — there will be many: shareholders, the boss, your self, your family, society, our children’s future, Gaia, whatever — and their interests will certainly conflict, but think always in epochal, constant, unshifting terms.

Now your mission statement may well be immeasurable, aspirational, voguish, optional horse feed — probably will be, if HR or corporate communications had anything to do with it — but even that you can energise by tacking The Ultimate Purpose on the front of it.

“To create value for the owner by ... Fill in the blank with your marketing department’s chosen vacuity.