I received an email the other day, replying to my attempt to reschedule a meeting I had canceled a few weeks earlier. The email stated “we have made a company decision to discontinue our consultation practice where it is based on a success-fee” which “eliminates the possibility of working with you”.
Huh? I feel like I just got the “I just want to be friends” speech. And yet, Newchapter is in the midst of telling many of our clients, we too, have made the decision to discontinue some of the tasks we agreed to perform. But how can we do this? What makes us think we can propose a change in direction with someone, or some organization, then expect to remain friends?
I am sure there are many answers to this question – some are quite obvious, like relationships, trust, integrity and so on. But, I believe the overarching reason we will remain friends, and continue working together, is we share a common purpose with our customers.
You see, though Newchapter’s roots are in facility design and construction, the real value we offer is the system – the process – we began formulating in 2009, for developing and operating successful college ministry residence halls. In fact, the underlying purpose of Newchapter is not to build facilities at all, but rather to build up the field of college ministry.
What we began to recognize late last year, was our model was creating a “pressure cooker” in which, despite our good intentions, our efforts were concentrated on building as many facilities, in the least amount of time as possible – an objective that conflicted with our core purpose on many levels. And so we had to decide – should we avoid conflict, and continue with business-as-usual in the pressure cooker, or should we assume the risk of changing our model, requiring some difficult conversations with our existing clients, but allowing us to move forward in a way that is in alignment with our purpose?
Never ones to avoid a hearty challenge, we made the obvious choice, and like our namesake, are opening a “new chapter” in our business. No longer will our success be defined by how many facilities we develop, but rather by how many college ministries we can inspire to reach new heights – with or without a residence hall.
Good to Great author Jim Collins defines core purpose as an organization’s fundamental reason for being. In other words, enduring great organizations are defined by what they stand for, not what they produce. Through our experiences, I have been observing whether those around me are dialed in to their core purpose, either professionally or personally. In other words, is my insurance agent truly concerned with protecting our financial health, or simply in writing new policies? As leaders in our church, are we focused on being followers of Christ in a hurting world, or are we concerned about maintaining numbers? Are our elected officials confronting issues and engaging in debates to improve the lives of their constituents, or simply towing the party line in order get reelected and enjoy the perks of holding political office?
How about you? Do you have a purpose? Can you define what is it? And finally, are you willing to make difficult decisions in life or in business, so the things you say and do are aligned with your purpose?
