SPONSOR PERSPECTIVE
Around the world, the business
environment is in a permanent
state of disruption. Today
more than ever, companies are
searching for a new genetic code
that will help them continuously
evolve—to survive and to thrive.
The EY Beacon Institute was
launched in response to this transformation imperative.
A community of global executives, entrepreneurs,
academics, and thought leaders, the Beacon Institute
is advancing the transformation of the working world,
redefining what it means to be a successful company in
the 21st century.
A tie that binds our community is a shared understanding
that there is a new leading edge: Those companies able to
harness the power of purpose to drive performance and
profitability enjoy a distinct competitive advantage.
Laden with many meanings, the core insight about this
notion of “purpose” is that meaning matters—not just in an
abstract sense, but in terms of today’s business metrics.
In the interest of advancing the science of purpose, EY
Beacon Institute teamed with Harvard Business Review
Analytic Services, surveying global business executives
about the extent to which purpose is utilized by their
organizations—and, importantly, the impact that it has
upon their ability to grow, innovate, and transform.
We found a very high level of consensus among these
executives that purpose matters, and a widespread
belief that it has positive effects on key performance
drivers. The survey also demonstrates that companies
who clearly articulate their purpose enjoy higher growth
rates and higher levels of success in transformation and
innovation initiatives.
This did not surprise us. At EY, when we began our
purpose-led transformation to “build a better working
world,” we experienced firsthand the same benefits and
barriers explored here. And we have seen these as well
when supporting our clients’ transformation journeys.
Given the strong sentiment that purpose is important and
the clear benefits it seems to accrue, it is curious that
purpose is utilized by only a minority of companies as
a driver of strategy and decision-making. As the survey
findings suggest, this is due not only to external issues,
such as short-term pressures from investors, but also to
internal issues such as insufficient leadership commitment
and misaligned performance metrics.
This raises many interesting questions, not the least of
which is why and particularly how some organizations
are better able to strategically integrate and capitalize on
purpose than others. We believe that better questions
lead to better answers. With our community of global
leaders, Beacon will continue to advance research, share
stories, and amplify a growing dialogue on how businesses
are redefining success to create sustainable value.
We invite you to connect with us at ey.com/beacon—and
to join the movement of those on the leading edge
of transforming the working world.
Valerie Keller
Global Lead, EY Beacon Institute