The common cause

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A common cause is a basic idea that “animates” the organization. We borrowed this idea from Simon Sinek’s “the good cause”. It is another developed idea of “Start with Why”. But: it is not the same as the WHY. A WHY comes from the past. It’s an origin story. It is a statement of who we are – the sum of our values and beliefs. A just cause is about the future.

A just cause must be:

for something – affirmative and optimistic –
inclusive – open to all who would like to contribute –
service-oriented – for the primary benefit of others – thereby building a loyal base of employees and customers (and investors) who will remain loyal to the company through thick and thin.
resilient – can withstand political, technological and cultural change –
idealistic – big, bold and ultimately unattainable – attainable is a vision that also plays an important role.

What doesn’t qualify as a good thing is

Moon shots, i.e. hard to reach targets
“to be the best”, that is, to measure oneself against the competition.
growth per se
Social responsibility, i.e. things that the company pursues in addition to its primary objective

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The common cause

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