I started AM in 1998, and like most businesses, we’ve had our ups and downs. A few years ago, I began to see that the industry was changing and that simply making websites wasn’t a long term strategy for the viability of the business.
The first two decades of our existence had many successes that led us to a place of relative comfort, but I knew we would need to find a new way to deliver even more value to our clients to stay relevant in the future. For the first time ever, I began to seek outside help to educate and guide me to the answers I was looking for. I joined some well-known business leader groups. Those groups introduced me to some amazing principles, tools and people that would all end up influencing our new vision.
The most meaningful group I joined was called Kingdom Business Leaders. It was a ministry of Gateway Church for business leaders. I was introduced to what the Bible says about how to run a business. I had always tried to lead our company with Biblical principles and treat our team well, but I had no idea how much God wanted to grow my relationship with Him through the business.
I began to learn that God has a vision for me and for the business and that He could guide me in the daily operation of the business as well. I started to uncover that he wired me with gifts and abilities and most importantly a purpose that I can walk in every day. I learned that God has much to say to me personally and as I learned to hear him more clearly, my relationship with Him became so much closer.
I realized that I was called to help others uncover their purpose and build their life on it. If I could find a way to uncover purpose in me and then others too, it could change their lives and their organizations forever. They could show up to work every day knowing how they can make lives better for them and for others. If I could help other leaders build their organizations on a clarified, meaningful purpose, it would attract a tribe of people who want to join their cause and help accomplish it.
Through this exploration, I realized that my gifts of creativity and clarity allowed me to uniquely help business leaders clarify their purpose (their WHY) and then bring it to life in their culture and branding. Through the integration of purpose discovery and brand strategy, our new OVRFLO process was born. We applied the new purpose-led brand conversation to their marketing channels and content and before we knew it, it was working! Their staff began to come alive. Their customers began responding and aligning to the new focused WHY messaging. Our clients were hooked, and so were we.
Our purpose of inspiring and equipping others to fulfill their God-given purpose was happening. Now we start every employee and client relationship with that conversation. We have processes and tools to help people uncover their individual purpose, their company purpose and then we use our agency skills to apply it to internal and external brand and communication channels.
We also have our employees go through our Purpose Discovery Process. It has completely changed our culture. We make it our goal to talk about their individual purpose as much as possible and how they can align it at work. We talk about how it helps them do their jobs better, and fulfillment and job satisfaction has grown dramatically.
My path to purpose has changed my life. I now speak regularly to business leaders about uncovering purpose and energizing brands. We inspire and equip leaders and their teams to create purpose-led cultures and brands. It results in engaged people and that leads to loyalty and profitability. It makes life and work meaningful for all involved, and it can work for you too.
