Can you overcome the “invisible hand” by deploying a purposefully visible heart?
Ever wonder how Best Buy survived while its biggest competitors went bankrupt and while all brick-and-mortar retail flailed in the face of Walmart, Amazon, and the general move to e-commerce? They did it by redefining their business and then revamping their hiring, training, and store layouts to align with a new way and a new purpose. Hubert Joly shifted Best Buy from a store and a culture that was about selling hardware and tech widgets to one that was focused on helping solve their customers’ real-world, at-home, and at-work technology challenges. They moved from “sell more stuff” to “solve more problems.” In doing so, they became a people business with what Joly calls a “noble purpose.”
Leading a company with purpose and strong values isn’t just a philosophy—it’s a commitment that starts at the top and influences every aspect of the business. It means:
- Leadership must actively model, promote, and live the company’s values.
- Employees feel more engaged and fulfilled when their work has meaning—even in hourly roles.
- Hiring, training, and development must be aligned with those values at every level.
- Incentives, rewards, and recognition should reinforce and sustain a values-driven culture.
- Consistency and discipline are essential—both internally and with customers—to ensure everyone understands and embodies the company’s purpose.
When done right, leading with purpose creates a stronger, more engaged workforce and a more resilient organization. But what does it take to truly embed purpose into leadership? The Heart of Business explores this through the lens of a remarkable company transformation. Here are Hubert Joly’s five “be’s” of purposeful leadership:
- Be clear about your purpose, the purpose of people around you, and how it connects with the purpose of the company.
- Be clear about your role as a leader.
- Be clear about whom you serve.
- Be driven by values.
- Be authentic.