What's your company's purpose?

Enlarge Image

Holly Hagerman is a brand alchemist with Green Rising Marketing. 

Years ago, I interviewed for a job at a marketing firm. It wasn’t until halfway into the interview that they told me exactly what I’d be doing. They wanted me to travel through Montana and Wyoming, speaking at town hall meetings and lobbying to run an oil pipeline through the area.

I had a couple of problems with that idea. First and foremost, I felt conflict with my personal commitment to the environment. But also, on my way out, I saw that a large environmental nonprofit, something like the Nature Conservancy, was on their client roster.

Marketing agencies often avoid taking on two clients in the same industry in order to avoid conflicts, but rarely do they avoid taking on two clients with radically opposing missions. That didn’t sit right with me.

I walked out of the interview and eventually founded Green Rising Marketing, where all clients are working toward the common goal of a creating a better world.

I didn’t compromise my values and my sense of self, and I don’t believe other businesses should either. Stand tall and stay true to your guiding principles. Statistics show it makes good business sense. According to Gallup, mission-based companies are up to 15 percent more profitable than non-mission-based companies.

But first you need to be sure of what those principles are.

All too often, a mission statement is crafted as part of a business plan or for seeking investors, but it never sees the light of day again. A mission isn’t just something you tell to venture capitalists, it’s something that should guide every move your business makes. If you find your grand mission within the day-to-day — and run it through all of your marketing efforts — you will start to see the forest for the trees.