each accomplished, you will agree that most of the leaders of the Bible
committed themselves to what James Collins and Jerry Porras call
BHAGs (Big Hairy Audacious Goals), in their book Built to Last (a title that certainly applies to the Judeo-Christian tradition and the Bible itself ). The Bible abounds with players who would have easily qualified
for Jack Welch’s ‘‘A’’ team. And each of these A’s has modern counter-
parts who also dare to challenge the limits of the possible and sometimes
accomplish the seemingly impossible. Our modern leaders often have
to cross the Red Sea, navigate vast wildernesses, and fight off larger,
better-equipped armies before they are able to march into the Promised
Land.
Daniel was a man with unshakeable purpose. He worshiped the God
he believed in despite the punishment he knew he would receive for it.
He believed the Lord would deliver him from the lions’ den, but he
vowed he would keep his faith in the Lord and maintain his purpose
even if he was not delivered.
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THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
For Daniel’s modern counterpart, listen to CEO Ralph Larsen of
Johnson & Johnson, talking similarly about his company’s core values:
‘‘The core values embodied in our credo might be a competitive advan-
tage, but that is not why we have them. We have them because they
define for us what we stand for, and we would hold them even if they
became a competitive disadvantage for us in certain situations.’’
Being a Jew and believing in one God rather than a collection of
idols was not a particular competitive advantage for Daniel in idola-
trous, corrupt Babylon. But his purpose was unwavering, and it carried
him even when it did not seem to have a likely short-term payoff.
Several thousand years later, Daniel’s ‘‘organization’’ is still thriving.
Can anyone today find an airline route (or even a bus route) to a king-
dom called ‘‘Babylon’’? Johnson & Johnson, which has sustained sub-
stantial short-term losses through its devotion to its ‘‘credo,’’ has also
outlasted and out-profited many of its competitors.
MODERN LEADERS, TIMELESS PURPOSE
Fortunately, many modern companies have purposes that sustain them,
perhaps not as strongly as Daniel’s purpose, but with more staying
power than Nebuchednezzar’s. These purposes often go far beyond the
mere provision of a product or service. Herman Miller’s former chair-
man, Max De Pree wrote, ‘‘My goal is that when people look at us . . .
not as a corporation but as a group of people working intimately within
a covenantal relationship, they’ll say, ‘These folks are a gift to the
spirit.’ ’’ His successor, J. Kermit Campbell, adds that the company’s
true mission is not to create products but to ‘‘liberate the human
spirit.’’4
Supercomputer company Cray Research’s CEO, John Rollwagen,
likens working at Cray to being on ‘‘a mission for God.’’ The compari-
son is apt when you consider the goals of many of the company’s activi-
ties: to help cure AIDS, to patch up the hole in the ozone layer, to
simulate car crashes without actually crashing cars, saving thousands of
Purpose
31
lives in the process. Says Vice President Deborah Barber, ‘‘It’s different
than attaching yourself to a tube of toothpaste.’’5
Tell that to Tom Chappell, creator of the world’s leading ‘‘alternative
toothpaste,’’ Tom’s of Maine. Chappell is definitely a ‘‘man on a mis-
sion,’’ and Tom’s of Maine is a ‘‘toothpaste with a mission.’’ If Ben & Jerry’s is about much more than ice cream, Tom’s of Maine is about
much more than toothpaste. Once a month, the whole company spends
half a day focusing on one aspect of their mission: diversity, profitability, and the environment. The cost to the company? Some $75,000 in lost
production time. ‘‘And it’s worth every penny,’’ says Chappell.
What exactly is gained? First of all, the company gains a lot of very
practical recommendations for improving the operation while keeping
it ‘‘on course.’’ Secondly, it boosts morale, builds teamwork, and shows
that the company practices what it preaches. Says Chappell, ‘‘When we
need to call upon the reserves of our people—to dig in deeper, meet
extraordinary goals—we can expect it here.’’ These people aren’t at-
taching themselves to a tube of toothpaste, they’re attaching themselves
to a larger business and social mission.6
In 1991, Larry Bossidy, CEO of Allied Signal, found himself in a
position similar to that of Moses. The company lacked purpose, morale
was suffering, and the bottom line was showing it. Like Moses, Bossidy
had to take some drastic action and ask his people to make some hard
sacrifices. No, he did not ask them to wander in the desert for forty
years subsisting on matzoh and manna. But he did cut $225 million in
capital spending, sold some divisions, and cut 6,200 jobs.
What made Allied Signal’s people want to make these sacrifices? Bos-
sidy’s sense of purpose. Fortune magazine noted that Bossidy was able to paint a picture of the future as compelling as the one Moses had painted
for the Israelites. The remaining employees ‘‘could see the Promised
Land and know when they got there.’’7 Bossidy made sure he constantly
communicated his purpose to all levels of the company. And unlike
Moses, he was able to ‘‘cross over’’ with his troops.
Moses’ leadership capabilities did not just stem from a dynamic per-
sonality or communication style (indeed, he was ‘‘slow of tongue’’ and
often needed his brother Aaron to speak for him). He had a tremendous
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THE BIBLE ON LEADERSHIP
well of power and purpose because he had been handed the law by a
powerful figure. Wise corporate leaders also realize that they must cod-
ify their purpose if it is to go beyond the mere cult of personality and
become a sustaining vision for the entire organization.
Listen to Emily Duncan, director of global diversity and work life, as
she describes the power of a common purpose at Hewlett-Packard:
‘‘We have been fortunate at Hewlett-Packard, because we have had the
strength of the HP way to help us cope . . . It represents our deeply
held values, shared practices, and policies that have always guided the
company.’’ Those values? ‘‘Trust and respect for the individual, high
achievement, uncompromising integrity, teamwork . . .’’8 Note that the
loyalty is to the values and the overall purpose, not to the company
founders themselves.
PURPOSE MEANS COMMITMENT TO THE
RIGHT PRIORITIES
‘‘What good is it if a man gains the world but forfeits his soul?’’ This
quote from Matthew reminds us that for many leaders and companies,
the ultimate success is not just in ‘‘the numbers’’ or even the spread of
a radical new product or concept. Anita Roddick, CEO of The Body
Shop, felt that a purpose of being merely ‘‘the biggest or the most
profitable’’ would not sustain her company or inspire the employees to
reach the ambitious goals the company has attained.
Says Roddick, ‘‘If your aspirations come from the values of your
culture or church or temple or mosque, you have something beyond
your livelihood creation. You’re coming to work not as a nine-to-five
sort of death but a nine-to-five sort of living.’’ (Actually, it’s about as hard to imagine Roddick’s troops sticking to a nine-to-five schedule as
it is to imagine the troops at Jericho announcing that they were not
about to blow any rams’ horns, thank you, because they had already
marched around the city several times, they were tired, and it was quit-
ting time.)
Purpose
33
What is Roddick’s purpose, which has driven the growth of The
Body Shop and created incredibly loyal customers and supremely moti-
vated employees? It is the creation of products that are natural and
whose production protects rather than destroys the ecosystem, a belief
that women are already beautiful and do not need artificial products to
enhance that beauty, and a devotion to empowering the employees and
customers (almost all of whom are women) rather than manipulating
their insecurities about their appearance.
When Roddick talks about mission and purpose, she barely mentions
products: ‘‘What has kept us going from all regions of the world . . . is
our common set of values—our human rights campaigning, our social
justice. That’s the glue that keeps us together.’’9
Another aspect of purpose is a ‘‘no-exit strategy.’’ When you truly
believe in a purpose, you don’t look for a back door (or a side door) to
make your escape when the going gets rough. Daniel didn’t enter the
lions’ den and then immediately look for the emergency exit in case the
Lord couldn’t pull him through. And many modern leaders founded
their businesses with the same ‘‘no exit’’ attitude. Steve Jobs had a mis-
sion to make computers enjoyable and accessible to the general public
at a time when only ‘‘geeks’’ could really run or enjoy computers. Bill
Gates envisioned ‘‘a computer on every desk in every home, running
Microsoft software.’’ It is hard to conceive what Jobs and Gates would