Connecting Purpose and Performance

By Jamey Lutz —

Years ago, Wharton management professor and best-selling author Adam Grant studied a group of college students hired to solicit financial pledges from alumni on behalf of the university. As an experiment, Grant arranged for a recent graduate who was awarded a scholarship funded through a similar solicitation effort to share his story with the students. The graduate gave a short talk about how the scholarship had positively affected his life and how grateful he was for the students’ efforts. In the timeframe immediately following the alumni testimonial, donations secured by the workers increased by a remarkable 171 percent. Interestingly, the surge occurred without any promise of additional compensation for increased production. Subsequent interviews with the students revealed that the alumni testimonial had inspired them to try harder and with greater passion. They had witnessed firsthand the greater purpose behind their work.

This principle – connecting individual contributions to an organization’s higher purpose – is a hallmark of the world's most admired companies. For many organizations, decoratively displayed mission statements remain abstract and disconnected from day-to-day operations. Accounting firm KPMG, however, stands apart with an innovative approach to bridge this gap and instill purpose-driven pride among employees.

Through their Higher Purpose initiative, KPMG introduced their purpose statement: Inspire Confidence. Empower Change. This guiding principle permeated the organization via leadership talks, live events, multimedia communications, and employee engagement activities. The initiative aimed to ensure every team member felt the emotional resonance of their work, linking individual roles to the firm's overarching mission.

One cornerstone of this effort was the 10,000 Stories Challenge, a campaign empowering employees to express how their contributions mattered. The challenge asked employees to create digital posters answering, “What do you do at KPMG?” Crucially, responses were tied to the company's purpose statement, fostering a culture of meaning and shared impact.

As Bruce Pfau, former Vice Chair of HR and Communications at KPMG, recounted:

We offered an incentive of two extra paid days off at the end of the year if we met the 10,000 stories goal by Thanksgiving. Incredibly, we surpassed the goal before the Fourth of July. Soon, it became clear that the incentive was not the primary motivator – we received thousands more stories even after we announced that the extra days off were assured. In a startling display of our people’s pent-up appetite to express the meaning of their work, by Thanksgiving, we had received 42,000 stories.

KPMG’s success highlights an essential truth: organizations thrive when their people see the difference their work makes. Leaders who invest in linking individual roles to a collective purpose can ignite passion, foster pride, and elevate both culture and performance.

jameylutz.com