The journey to defining our unique Purpose Statement

One of the first elements of our company I wanted us to rethink and bring back to surface when I joined MSX International a few months ago was our purpose. Our ‘why?’. Why do we exist as a company? Why do we need to be part of this world? After spending time with my new team, I realized that as industry disruption and hybrid work models become the norm, I needed to include 'reviving our purpose’ among my priorities. I was confident it was the perfect time for us to re-prioritize this and ask the right questions to drive us forward.  

I am sure you are all aware how valuable a purpose is to both organizations and people and have come across with many inspiring and bold purpose statements of leading corporations. I am not going to refer to the benefits of having a company purpose or most importantly living it every day and becoming a purpose driven organization. There are many available articles and studies that can do this better than I can. But I do want to walk you through our own Purpose definition-journey and share some insights that could be valuable when you are ready to start your own journey. Of course, there’s more than one way to proceed. But here is ours. 

A diverse team for the definition your company’s Purpose can make all the difference.

Together with the rest of the leadership team, we agreed that our new purpose statement should not be defined by c-level executives. On the contrary, it should be crafted by MSX team members who live and breathe our clients’ needs and the aspirations of their fellow colleagues. Our purpose should be defined by the people who make this company what it is today.  

We decided to form a new task force that comprised a diverse group of 10 to15 twenty MSX team members across different positions, roles, geographical markets, backgrounds, nationalities, and beliefs. The team included operational leaders, business consultants, customer-facing and back-office colleagues, IT, sales and marketing communication team members, and people in other roles within the MSX organization.  Despite their varied geographical locations, including Germany, Italy, France, Greece, Spain, UK, the Netherlands, the United States, China, India and Australia, this was a true team. Its members held dozens of virtual meetings, took on team and individual ‘homework’ and carried out in-depth discussions and feedback sessions. These meetings weren’t about new client projects or business opportunities, but instead were about our DNA; exploring what makes us different and what we are passionate about.  

Having all these different voices, opinions and perspectives on the table led to authentic, meaningful and valuable conversations about our company and how we make a difference. Through this diversity, we also learned how our global teams feel about why we do what we do. It helped us create a purpose that was not designed at our headquarters, but in the field. 

Start from scratch. It’s not an easy or speedy process. But it’s worth it. 

Our ‘Purpose Task force’ decided we should start from the basics. We needed to write down our DNA components: Who are we? Who do we impact? How do we influence and affect the industry we serve? There were long sessions, detailed discussions and what I call, ‘constructive conflict’ which helped the team see clearly who we impact as a company, how and why.  

The discussion for finding the positive difference a company makes needs to start from scratch. We looked at the industry we operate in, the clients we serve and their customers, or other communities we influence, and how we impact them. The results of this discussion might sound obvious at first, but it might also surprise you. I can assure you it’s worth the effort. In our case, it made us think a lot about our industry and its future. For example, is it right to refer to our industry as ‘automotive’ or have we entered an era in which ‘the world of mobility’ better reflects the businesses we serve today and in future? 

Let the team be creative. The results can be amazing. 

I truly believe that a company’s purpose needs to be clear and straightforward for everyone. But it is equally important to create a statement that inspires your team members, your clients, and the industry. It is crucial you find the right words to express your ‘why?’ in a way that embodies your future aspirations. You will be surprised at how creative your team can be if you provide its members with the opportunity to act like a third-party marketing agency. We were amazed by the results. The leadership team was tasked with making a final decision between three proposed statements that were all equally creative. And we’re sure that the proposed statements we chose from were as good - if not better - than the outcome we might have expected from a five-star creative agency.  

Defining and communicating the purpose statement is only the beginning.  

The process of defining a new purpose statement can be lengthy but if you follow the right process, it can also be inspiring and enjoyable. Our taskforce members spent hours and hours on in-depth discussions that helped them achieve the right result. We defined our purpose and, moments later, realized that we were about to embark on a new journey. Defining our purpose is just the beginning. We now have to be sure that all of our actions, decisions and business strategies moving forward are linked to this purpose. We will live it and breathe it. We’ll let it drive us and we’ll become the purpose-powered organization we wish to be. It’s going to be a long journey, but we’re certain we’re on the right path. 

Here is our new MSX purpose: 

“We exist to empower Movers and Makers to thrive in our ever-changing world” 

Click here to find out what is behind these words.