Articulate a Purpose

In articulating the firm’s purpose, managers tend to presume that why firms exist is well understood. However, the very role of modern corporations is increasingly being questioned and continually reframed. Operating within this market context, managers would need to articulate their raison d’être. Through this understanding, managers are in a better position to define a purpose (or vision) that inspires commitment to deliver the results. In this chapter, why firms exist is revisited as a premise for defining its purpose. To operationalise the emerging “vision,” the firm’s purpose is examined as to how it seeks to carve a role under a continually changing energy landscape when markets are transitioning to a low-carbon economy. This would require of managers to understand how their business could be disrupted in order to identify feasible pathways to create shared value for its stakeholders. In an uncertain world, how to move forward is as important as knowing when to change course when things work out differently from what was expected. Once formulated, the vision will need to be communicated, assimilated, and embedded among stakeholders’ actions towards achieving some commonly understood objectives.