7gen Bloc

I'm a big fan of Jim Collins, author of the business classics Built to Last (with Jerry Porras) and Good to Great. In a special issue of Fortune magazine, Collins documents the amazing frequency with which Fortune 500 companies disappear from the list -- and often from existence.

"Of the 500 companies that appeared on the first list, in 1955, only 71 have a place on the list today," he writes. "Nearly 2,000 companies have appeared on the list since its inception, and most are long gone from it. Just because you make the list once guarantees nothing about your ability to endure."

Collins notes that, "Companies do not fall primarily because of what the world does to them or because of how the world changes around them; they fall first and foremost because of what they do to themselves."

I would offer a slightly different reason -- one that's specific to today's business environment: businesses fail because they lose sight of their true purpose.

Most businesses are in business for the wrong reasons -- reasons that are no longer relevant to the expectations of society, employees, customers, and consumers. Most companies' stated purpose -- to maximize shareholder value, sell products at the lowest price, or provide the "ultimate in convenience" -- is far too shallow and limited to inspire employees to give their best, to build an authentic connection with key stakeholders, and to meet the needs of society.

I would suggest that to survive and succeed, all businesses today must have a purpose that is holistic and compelling. The purpose must include a moral imperative that makes evident its commitment to share in the responsibility of contributing to the challenges that face our world.

Every business must ask itself this fundamental question: What does the world most need that we are uniquely qualified to provide?