Companies nowadays question their corporate social contribution. Many thus publish a “raison d’être” — or purpose — which is supposed to give meaning to all the teams. But these missions are still frequently viewed as theoretical and disconnected from daily life. The authors of the book Net Positive propose to reinforce the link between the company mission and its strategy, and offer a very useful self diagnostic analysis grid:

• Does our mission contribute to generating growth and profits immediately?

• Does our mission significantly influence the strategic decisions and investments?

• Is our mission at the heart of the design of our value proposition?

• Does our mission condition the way we manage our teams and our organization?

• Is our mission regularly discussed during our management committee meetings?

Source: Net positive, Paul Polman, Andrew Winston, Harvard Business Review Press, 2021.