Purpose, from concept to concrete action

In the socio-economic landscape in which we live, characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, purpose - an organisation’s deepest raison d’être - is emerging as an essential strategic lever for addressing change. This is not an abstract ideal to be framed on a company wall, but an organisational principle that, if authentic and rooted, can become a powerful engine for internal alignment, employee motivation, innovation and positive impact.

Purpose is not a branding expression or a passing managerial fad. It is an element of identity that must permeate organisational culture, guide corporate strategy and be embodied in people's everyday behaviour. For it to be truly effective, it must be shared, understood and translated into consistent actions. In unstable contexts, Purpose becomes an anchor for decision-making in the absence of certainty and a catalyst for mobilising the entire organisation, not just its top management. Companies that manage to equip themselves with an expansive and authentic Purpose, and to translate it into practice, equip themselves with transformative leadership, capable of giving meaning and direction to complex choices.

Leadership, identity and courage

According to Maura Gallotti, Adjunct Professor at POLIMI GSoM, Advisor and Coach, talking about Purpose means facing a profound transformation in the way companies perceive and organise themselves. “Companies that approach this topic seriously are beginning to look at a new type of lens, a new kind of perspective that is needed in the business context now more than ever,” she says. Among the many challenges facing companies, in fact, one of the main ones is to equip themselves for the VUCA context, accepting that what until now had been experienced as “exceptional or emergency” is instead becoming a new ordinariness.

In this context, managing complexity is no longer a topic that is the preserve of leadership, but also concerns more operational roles, “such as those working in customer care at Enel retail”, who are now exposed directly to contact with consumers and to daily turmoil and change, far more than those in senior management roles, but do not live in the field every day. In this scenario, internal alignment can no longer depend solely on the vertical transmission of decisions but must arise from the deep sharing of a meaning that goes beyond business alone. “An organisation that resonates in unison has a precious competitive advantage”, Gallotti points out, “because in moments of doubt, people, at any level, can find the right answer on their own.”

Purpose, therefore, becomes a lens through which to read the present and imagine the future, a principle that gives coherence and meaning to strategies, operational choices and leadership models. “It can’t be just a word. Purpose must be co-created, nurtured and lived, because it is linked to the very identity of the organisation”, Gallotti reiterates. And to do that, you need leaders who are capable of listening, questioning themselves, and courageously choosing to embark on a path that has no pre-packaged answers.”

The Nivi Spa case: Purpose as a lever for cohesion and change

Federico Nicosia, Sole Director of Nivi Spa, is a manager who, in practical terms, can recount a real experience of building Purpose within his company - a very valuable and inspirational experience. “We are an SME with over sixty years of history in debt collection, which operates in highly complex market niches. For more than two years we have been renewing all our management applications, and this has generated a very great need for change management.”

The encounter with the concept of Purpose, during a POLIMI Graduate School of Management training course, ignited  a transformative intuition in him: “The course struck me both on a personal and corporate level. It was exactly what we needed to strengthen internal alignment.” Nicosia thus started a structured project to define their Purpose, co-created together with his front lines, through interviews and workshops. “We brought out our values, identified the tensions between what we say and what we do, and from there we built a concrete list of ‘do and don’t’ actions.” 
These include reviewing the performance evaluation process to better reflect the value of fairness, one of the cornerstones that emerged along the way. “It was almost psychoanalytical work, but also deeply practical. We have witnessed a clear improvement in internal cohesion - and we are only at the beginning.” 

The result is an organisation that is more aware than previously and readier to face transformation. “Today, I can already see a clear improvement in cross-functional relationships and in the sense of belonging. If built together and with authenticity, the Purpose is truly a lever of deep and lasting motivation” - a Purpose that becomes a leadership guide and a foundation for strengthening corporate culture and performance, even in complex phases such as the introduction of new systems and processes.

The role of education

POLIMI Graduate School of Management today represents one of the most active academic institutions on the topic of Purpose. As Dean Federico Frattini says, POLIMI GSoM has given itself a clear Purpose: to train managers, leaders and other professionals to be able to use innovation to create a better future. “We are convinced that education is the most powerful lever for generating a positive impact on society - and this belief guides all our actions,” he explained.

In line with this vision, POLIMI Graduate School of Management has fundamentally revamped its educational offering, extensively introducing content on Purpose, impact, and sustainability across its range of programmes, from finance to supply chain. “In five years, we have trained over 5,000 people on these issues, and the strategic goal is to reach 15,000 by 2026,” Frattini emphasised, illustrating one of the pillars of the Positive Impact Through Education Strategic Plan, which is at the heart of the School’s commitment and which aims to make Purpose a fundamental theme of its actions, not only by incorporating it into the educational content, but also into the practices and initiatives that the school promotes.

One of the most significant initiatives in this regard is Purpose in Action, POLIMI GSoM’s  free and certified digital Eduseries, with testimonials from CEOs, philosophers, academics and international managers. The project was born with the aim of exploring the main dimensions of Purpose and its transformative role, providing managers and professionals with the necessary tools to integrate it into their working reality and combine sustainable growth with a positive impact on society.

This concept will also be at the heart of Purpose Day 2025, the only event in Italy entirely dedicated to the theme of Purpose, scheduled for Thursday 16 October 2025 at 9.30 am at the illustrious Teatro Lirico Giorgio Gaber in Milan. Thanks to the prestigious collaboration with the HEC Paris Business School, and in particular its Purpose Center, directed by Prof. Rodolphe Durand, the 2025 edition of Purpose Day aims to establish itself as a European-level event and will see the participation of prominent speakers both nationally and internationally. These included Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever, Francesco Starace, former CEO of Enel, and Gary Lubner, former CEO of Belron. 

“Purpose, if adopted as a transversal organisational principle, can transform companies and make them capable of generating economic and social value, as well as producing value for their shareholders”, concluded Frattini. Our task as a school is to inspire, train and support this transformation, creating a shared culture where Purpose and economic-financial performance go hand in hand.”