Your Corporate Purpose Changed. Has Your Strategy Kept Up?

The basic purpose of the corporation has been changed from maximizing value for shareholders to maximizing it for all stakeholders. The implications of this are that performance must now be measured along many more dimensions than before and that leaders have to help employees transition to a stakeholder mindset, broaden participation in strategy-making, and make sure that their strategies reflect purpose.

What is this company's ultimate purpose? The basic approach to answering that question has been clearly articulated. The statement on the purpose of a corporation was signed by 181 CEOs. Customers, employees, suppliers, communities and shareholders are included in the definition of a corporation. The Roundtable's position was re-endorsed in 2020.