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    A purpose-driven organisation (PDO) is any body that has prioritised positive world impact as its primary driver. Charities, government bodies or arms-length bodies are naturally purpose-driven in their intent, but more and more businesses are starting to be set up as, or moving to become, a PDO. While PDOs are centred on their mission, they frequently encounter difficulties in converting that mission into quantifiable results. This makes it more difficult to attract funding, build trust with their employees and customers and leads to a huge amount of waste.

    To make PDOs more effective at driving impact, they need to become ruthless in their pursuit, clearly defining what it is they want to achieve, how they intend to achieve it, and implementing the necessary steps to make it a reality. Our purpose and impact consulting services are built on helping organisations navigate this journey.  

    What is the meaning of purpose-driven performance? It’s the continuous journey of turning an organisation’s intent (it’s “why”) into clear, measurable actions that create real impact. It means making sure everyone’s work is connected to the bigger goal, so people know their efforts matter. 

    Purpose-driven performance tracks progress towards meaningful outcomes, including social or environmental benefits, and builds a culture where a purpose framework guides decisions and motivates people to do their best work. Aligning purpose with performance is a continuous journey that requires clarity, strategic planning, and a commitment to measuring impact and optimisation. This collection of resources aims to provide you with the framework you need to turn intent into relentless, performance-driven impact. It is designed to help with these sorts of challenges:

    The purpose-driven performance collection, CEO persona infographic

    I am a CEO in the not-for-profit industry who has seen regular giving and access to funding drop by 25%. How am I supposed to deliver for my beneficiaries?

    The purpose-driven performance collection, policy lead persona infographic

    I run a policy area under strict budget constraints. Where, within this complex system, should I dedicate resources to create impact for the citizens I serve?

    The purpose-driven performance collection, head of strategy persona infographic

    My new CEO wants to move us to being a purpose-driven organisation. What does this look like in practice, and what will we need to change? 

    The most effective purpose-driven organisations have extreme clarity on what they are trying to achieve, a relentless focus on achieving it, and are optimised to deliver maximum impact. Our purpose-driven framework helps organisations in these three key areas. Click on the underlined descriptions of each phase to navigate to related content below:

    Clarity icon, purpose driven performance page, Clarasys

    Phase 1: Defining clarity

    Moving purpose from slogan to systemic ambition.

    Strategy icon, purpose driven performance page, Clarasys

    Phase 2: Achieving strategic focus

    Designing impact-led strategy.

    Optimise icon, purpose driven performance page, Clarasys

    Phase 3: Optimising for impact

    Building the operating engine to deliver your ambition.

    Phase 1: Defining clarity - Moving purpose from slogan to systemic ambition 

    Clarity on the specific impact that your organisation wants to have is crucial before doing anything else. Purpose-driven organisations work to change complex systems such as food, housing, health, transport, finance and other complex networks of actors and influences. You need to be able to cut through the noise and clarify the role you will play in these systems and the impact you will have based on the capital and capabilities you have. Clarifying this impact will enable you to bring stakeholders on board and focus your efforts and resources to make it happen. 

    The links below explore how to find clarity, the importance of purpose-driven leadership and how to enable it, and the power of bringing people together to make progress.

    How to find clarity on organisational impact

     Delivering performance in a purpose driven environment How to find clarity on organisational impact, blog post image for pillar page
     
    A purpose-driven organisation places its mission at the core of its operation. However, the challenge lies in maintaining clarity and strategic direction while navigating the complexities of the modern business landscape. This blog delves into the importance of clarity and provides practical tips for achieving it within your organisation.

    What is a purpose-driven leader?

     Blog post - Linkedin 3
    What is a purpose-driven leader? This is often less about the individual and more about the environment. To cultivate purpose-driven leadership, organisations must establish an environment where it can flourish. Learn how systemic shifts in structural, cultural, and incentive frameworks are necessary to truly enable leaders.

     

    The power of systems convening 

     Blog post - Linkedin 4
     
    How does purpose impact team performance? By bringing actors together! Learn how effective systems conveners don't necessarily hold the most power, but facilitate alignment among actors in a system, fostering conditions for coordinated change. This skill is crucial when facing 'stuck' problems that require collaborative solutions.
     

    Phase 2: Achieving strategic focus - Designing an impact-led strategy 

    Once you have clarity on the specific impact that your organisation wants to have, it’s time to formulate a strategy to embed purpose at the heart of your business operations. You want to focus on the intersection of high-impact activities that you are able to influence because of the resources and capabilities of your organisation. The challenge is mapping work, resources, and spending to actual impact. We recommend implementing a Theory of Change (ToC) to define your specific impact domains and articulate clear routes to impact, and building the capabilities your organisation needs for purpose-driven performance.

     

    Purpose-led strategy: What is it, and how do you deliver on it?
     Blog post - Linkedin 5

    Purpose-led strategy moves beyond solely maximising profit to delivering on a broader mission that benefits people and the planet. This critical piece outlines the five systematic steps to turn your impact ambition into a coherent, executable plan. Strategy must "decentre" your organisation and identify meaningful challenges that your business can profitably help solve. It covers defining your ambition, understanding systems, crafting a Theory of Change, setting aligned targets, and ensuring agile delivery that leverages strategic enablers.

    Why a purpose-driven strategy leads to profit

    Blog post - Linkedin 6

    Explore the significant evidence and four key reasons why prioritising purpose over profit creates more resilient and valuable organisations. This piece delves into how a purpose-driven approach fosters long-term thinking, cultivates loyal customer bases, sparks innovation, and builds an engaged, motivated workforce. It outlines practical steps for organisations to define and embed their purpose and values, transforming their strategy from profit-focused to impact-driven for sustained success.

    How to embed purpose across your organisation


    Blog post - Linkedin 7

    Moving beyond a statement, how do you embed purpose into the very fabric of your organisation's strategy and operations? Our guide provides a comprehensive framework for designing and implementing an impact-led strategy. It outlines practical steps to shift mindsets, redefine performance, and build resilient structures that ensure your purpose drives every decision.





    How the Theory of Change framework can transform your organisation

    Blog post - Linkedin 8

     What is a purpose-driven framework? Explore how the Theory of Change (ToC) can transform how you plan, prioritise, and measure impact. ToC provides a clear framework to connect your organisation’s resources and activities to its intended outcomes, helping you move from being busy to being truly effective. Whether you’re a startup struggling to prioritise, a large organisation with siloed projects, or a public body trying to link outputs to real-world impact, this blog shows how ToC can bring clarity, alignment, and focus.


    The Theory of Change in detail


    Blog post - Linkedin 9

    The Theory of Change provides a framework for allocating resources to achieve intended outcomes, helping you assess holistic return on investment. This detailed guide explains how we use ToC elements like Worldview, Systems, and Collaborators to define your role in creating change, balance desirability and feasibility, and proactively mitigate any potential negative impacts.






    Phase 3: Optimising for impact - building an operating model to deliver your ambition  

    In order to deliver on your purpose and impact ambition, you need to be able to effectively evolve your operating model and measure your progress. Operating models outline the necessary work, available resources, and organisational structure required to achieve an organisation's desired impact. Implementation often fails due to a disconnect between top-level strategy and daily team behaviour. Optimisation requires two engines: performance metrics and a purpose-led culture. 

    The organisational capabilities model

    Blog post - Linkedin 10

    Learn about the purpose-led capability model, a practical framework that helps organisations build the right capabilities across five key areas needed to become a purpose-driven organisation: Impact, Corporate Governance, Capital, Business Model, and Operating Model. By aligning these elements, organisations can move from good intentions to measurable outcomes. Additionally, we've developed a diagnostic tool to help you assess your organisation's current capabilities and identify areas for improvement.


    Purpose-led teams: The engine of long-term performance

    Blog post - Linkedin 11

    How can leaders create a purpose-driven culture? Explore the true engine of long-term impact: high-performing, purpose-led teams. It shows how teams grounded in purpose can outperform by aligning around a shared mission, fostering commitment, collaboration, and innovation. Drawing on insights from the Purpose in Practice Community (PIPC) and behaviour change frameworks like COM-B, the blog outlines three key interventions that help embed purpose across your organisation: shared understanding, space to experiment, and aligned systems. 

    Practical performance management for purpose-driven organisations

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    How to drive performance at work? Traditional systems fall short in mission-led environments, where motivation is driven by meaning, not profit alone. This blog introduces practical frameworks like Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) and the Balanced Scorecard, adapted for purpose-led goals, and emphasises continuous feedback to connect daily work with long-term mission. It offers actionable insights to help align culture, strategy, and performance.



     

    COMING SOON

    Our proprietary research on governance investigates how existing governance and ownership structures enable or constrain the journey to purpose-driven performance, providing new insight into effective models. It is due to be released in Q1 2026.

    Next steps: Moving from guidance to action

    Purpose is the foundation for a resilient, high-performing organisation. By adopting the guidance provided in these resources, you can transform your organisation from being merely busy to genuinely effective, ensuring lasting impact for your stakeholders.

    Ready to implement the guidance and transform your impact?

    We design purpose-led organisations that are relentless in their pursuit of impact. Our consultants can help you translate this entire methodology into a measurable operating model and performance culture. Learn more about our services here.

    Meet the experts

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    Alex Willford

    Alex is an experienced and customer/user-focussed consultant. He has spent most of his career in customer experience and Agile delivery across a range of industries and the public sector, most recently at NHS Test and Trace. In his spare time, Alex enjoys sports, coffee, and cooking.

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    Rutger Veltman

    Rutger Veltman is an experienced consultant specialising in purpose and impact strategy, organisational design, and sustainability. Since joining Clarasys in 2022, he has worked across the food, information services, construction, manufacturing, impact investing, and not-for-profit sectors. He recently supported launch of the CPHI Sustainability Collective at Informa, a purpose-driven initiative for sustainability in the pharmaceutical industry. Before Clarasys, Rutger worked at an AI startup and in academia.

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    Sam Maguire

    Sam is a principal consultant who specialises in sustainability strategy and operating model design across multiple industries. He has particular expertise in sustainable business models and designing organisations to be more circular. Having previously worked for Clarasys for four years he rejoined in May 2021 to lead the development of our internal sustainability strategy and roadmap and the formation of our sustainability proposition. Outside of work Sam enjoys playing sport, cooking and being out on his bike.

    Alex Willford

    Rutger Veltman

    Sam Maguire

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