When Your Purpose Becomes a Problem

Designing Tomorrow: Creative Strategies for Social Impact

Is your organization's purpose secretly undermining its impact?

In our latest episode of Designing Tomorrow, Jonathan and Eric tackle a provocative question: When does your purpose become a problem?

We explore the hidden mistakes that can trap even the most well-intentioned social impact organizations, including:

• Relying on wishful thinking instead of hard facts

• Letting processes become more important than outcomes

• Falling into dogmatic, crusade-like thinking

• Overvaluing passion at the expense of skills when hiring

These traps can slowly erode your effectiveness and relevance without you even realizing it. Left unchecked, they may even lead to your organization becoming obsolete.

But there's hope. We discuss practical ways to recognize the warning signs and realign your purpose for maximum impact.

This episode is a must-listen for any social impact leader who wants to ensure their organization's purpose remains a powerful force for good, not an anchor holding them back.
Episode Highlights

• [00:05] Concept of "purpose becoming a problem" in social impact work
• [01:23] Wishful thinking, often driven by a single donor, can mislead organizations
• [02:10] Donor diversification can help with a social impact organization’s resilience
• [03:59] Your historic purpose may lose relevance over time
• [06:10] Sticking to outdated processes can stifle organizational growth
• [08:33] "Crusading" and dogmatic approaches
• [11:24] Exploration of how passion-driven hiring can sometimes overshadow skill-based hiring
• [13:12] Hiring practices, the balance between passion and necessary skills in building effective teams

Quotes

• "[Some] organizations are driven by wishful thinking and not brutal facts." - Jonathan Hicken [01:23]
• "Some organizations are built on a house of cards, with one donor propping the whole thing up." - Eric Ressler [03:26]
• "I think in most cases an 'us vs. them' mentality is lazy marketing." - Jonathan Hicken [10:46]

Resources

• Nina Simon
• Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
• How We Define Social Purpose Brands
• Social Enterprises: Own Your Purpose-Driven Differentiator
• How Your Purpose, Vision, and Mission Can Guide Better Brand Storytelling
• Defeat Mission Creep and Master Your Nonprofit's Messaging to Maximize Impact

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Thank you for all that you do for your cause and for being part of the movement to move humanity and the planet forward.

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1. When Purpose Becomes a Problem (00:00:00)

2. High Performance Teams and Social Impact (00:14:39)