All enterprises have a purpose.  That’s what makes them an enterprise, rather than a crowd.

The purpose can be simply capital growth of course.  But this is a dangerous choice.  Sooner or later, a capital growth-focused enterprise decides that it doesn’t matter how that capital growth is generated, and adopts some of the methods of drug dealers, usurers, racketeers and slavers – generating profits through compulsion and dependency rather than value creation.

For most enterprises, capital growth is secondary to their primary purpose – what they are here to do for the people they serve.

It encompasses both what drove you, the founder to set up the enterprise, and what draws customers, investors and potential employees to join in it with you.

It encapsulates the value you create for the people you serve – value that, being worth more to them than the money in their pocket, delivers a profit, so your enterprise can continue its purpose.

This purpose is the core of your Promise of Value.

Don’t be afraid to share it.