I recently wrote about how company purpose is being tested and inspired by all the events of 2020. This topic is very real for us at Thought Ensemble. We’ve been thinking a lot about what really matters as we’ve navigated the challenges of this year. While we’ve had to make some significant shifts in our investments and growth plan for the last six months, we’ve been able to sustain our business in a way that we could keep everyone in our company employed and paid. We are very aware of how fortunate we are amidst everything going on in the world and we want to do more to make our company better, help other companies improve, and make a bigger difference in the world.
Specifically, sparked by the increasing conversations everywhere about racial injustice, we have been doing a lot of work on DEI — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We are working on increasing diversity in many ways, but as important as that is, we want to go beyond just having diversity “by the numbers.” We were all incredibly moved by this Accenture video on inclusion and it has generated lots of conversation and action related to how we improve belongingness in our culture. We have also been working on understanding and cherishing everyone’s individual strengths and encouraging people to bring their authentic selves to work.
One of my friends was both surprised and curious when I shared with her that I was “inspired” by Thought Ensemble’s DEI conversations because, as a leader of a company, she is feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by all the work they are doing. But I am inspired because I know we can do better. I also know that it is not only the right thing to do, but that it will also fuel the fulfillment of our people, increase the benefits we bring to our clients, and amplify the difference we can make in the world. I know we can create a space at Thought Ensemble that is so welcoming and inclusive that it inspires other organizations to do the same. So much has been brought to light in 2020 and it is incumbent upon us to create organizations that are remarkably different and substantially better than they were before in order to create a better future for everyone.
Related to all these conversations, we took a fresh look at our company’s purpose and decided to evolve it in a couple of ways to really capture this aspiration. We agreed it was important to add the word “together” to our purpose of solving problems to transform the world; it has always been there — it is our first core value and “Ensemble” is in our company name — but it was too important not to represent as part of our core purpose statement as well. We also added more to our purpose description, specifically about having a lasting impact on our people, our clients, and other organizations we touch. We want to be an inspiration that has a butterfly effect on all the organizations we interact with and beyond. We want to inspire others to bring authentic, diverse perspectives together to better solve problems.
I love how we evolved it and I’m excited to share it here.
Thought Ensemble’s purpose is to solve problems together that transform companies, industries, and the world.
Our company was founded on the belief that there’s incredible value in bringing diverse perspectives together to solve problems. By welcoming and valuing each individual’s contribution to the whole, we generate bigger and better ideas and deliver more strategic and practical solutions. We solve problems that transform people’s lives and ultimately the world. We inspire every organization we touch to better solve problems together.
Be sure to check out my conversation with Dan Albaum about corporate purpose on the Market Impact Insights podcast.
