Many executives think purpose is paramount to business success. Others believe a rock-solid go-to-market strategy is what defines market leaders. Some see the company’s core values as the cornerstone of organizational success. And still other leaders believe a differentiated, customer-centered corporate story drives business performance.

The truth is, each of these executives are right … and they are all wrong.

Individually, these four dimensions of your business will only lift organizational performance so much … for so long. However, when all four are fully aligned and activated — companies can achieve sustained growth and positive business results.

At OnMessage, we work with C-suite executives and business leaders to establish clarity and alignment across all of these critical components of organizational performance:

Purpose (North Star)
Your reason for being, the dent your company wants to leave in the universe.

Go-to-Market Strategy
Your vision and mission as well as quarterly / annual enterprise strategic priorities.

Core Values
The mindset, beliefs and behaviors shared throughout your organization.

Corporate Story
Your company’s positioning, value proposition and promise to customers.

All of these are critical to achieving clarity up and down your organization. They all must be aligned to drive sustained business results. Collectively, they represent the connective tissue that creates high-performing, market-leading companies. While most executives have spent some time documenting and defining each of these elements, very few have done the work that is required to strategically align and activate these dimensions across the entire organization. Even fewer executives have done what it takes to weave these dimensions into the fabric of their customer experience.

Why is this so critical to success? Without organizational clarity and alignment across all four of these dimensions, things like this will continue occur on a regular basis …

> Executives will continue sharing inconsistent messages — internally and externally.
> Leaders will continue launching initiatives that are in conflict with or no longer support the company’s go-to-market strategy.
> Managers will continue making decisions that do not align with the company’s culture or core values.
> The messages frontline employees use to share who you are, what you do, the value you deliver will confuse customers throughout the buyer journey.
> Your team will feel overworked and busy but their collective efforts will not produce desired business outcomes.

As a business leader, you can’t expect to achieve optimal performance across the organization if your Purpose, Go-to-Market Strategy, Core Values and Corporate Story are not clearly defined, aligned and activated. Executives who are humble enough to admit this and brave enough to do something about it — will achieve success. Those who don’t will randomly search for other “levers” to pull in hopes of finding one that produces sustainable business results.

That’s Your OnMessage Minute.