It's Not What You Sell, It's What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business Is Driven by Purpose

Synopsis: Who is Roy Spence and what makes him the Pied Piper of Purpose?

Over the last thirty-five years, Roy Spence has helped organizations such as Southwest Airlines, BMW, the University of Texas, Walmart, the Clinton Global Initiative, and many others achieve greatness by getting them to obsess about one big idea: purpose. With purpose as the North Star, employee engagement is higher, competition is less threatening, customers are more loyal, and innovation flows. It's the secret to developing a more fulfilling work life as well as a healthier bottom line.

Simply put, purpose is a definitive statement about the difference you are trying to make in the world. As Spence writes, "It's your reason for being that goes beyond making money, and it almost always results in making more money than you ever thought possible." It's not soft stuff, as some might scoff. Especially during times of great economic uncertainty, purpose is the key to creating and maintaining a high-performing organization. It deserves just as much attention as strategy, execution, and innovation.

A real purpose can't just be words on a piece of paper. It has to get under the skin of every member of your organization like Southwest's purpose of democratizing the skies or Walmart's of saving people money so they can live better. If you get it right, your people will feel great about what they're doing, clear about their goals, and excited to get to work every morning. No organization is too big or too small, too niche or too mundane, to benefit from a clearly defined purpose.

Spence and coauthor Haley Rushing share their insider insights and case studies to help you discover your organization's purpose, proclaim it to the world, and apply it to everything you do. This book will force you to address some tough and profound questions:

•What difference do we want to make in the world?
•What do we really stand for?
•Do we have purpose-based leaders in key roles?
•Do our employees feel like what they do matters?
•Would our customers miss us if we ceased to exist?
•Do we bring our purpose to life everywhere we can both internally and externally?

Spence's hard-won lessons will change the way you view your job, your business model, your leadership style, and your marketing. They will help you make money, make a difference, and with a little luck,make history.