That's a good question, and has made me reflect on the difference between purpose and mission. I think the mission is explicit, and both Google and Airtasker have good ones: respectively to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful, and to empower people to realise the full value of their skills.
The purpose is a bit more implicit, and is best thought of as the organisation's "reason for being". It is thus infused into the culture.
At Google I think the purpose was to generate value at the confluence of technology and data. Search, Maps, YouTube, Waymo, Ads, and so on all fit into that mould. (There is a secondary class of more defensive plays such as Android that exist primarily to protect Google's most important channels).
At Airtasker our purpose is to act as a new type of connective tissue for the services economy. We bring people who need a particular type of skill with the people who possess that skill. That is our purpose, and remembering that makes all other decisions easier.
Would love to hear more about examples of purpose, which may be seen at your time at Google or Airtasker.
That's a good question, and has made me reflect on the difference between purpose and mission. I think the mission is explicit, and both Google and Airtasker have good ones: respectively to organise the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful, and to empower people to realise the full value of their skills.
The purpose is a bit more implicit, and is best thought of as the organisation's "reason for being". It is thus infused into the culture.
At Google I think the purpose was to generate value at the confluence of technology and data. Search, Maps, YouTube, Waymo, Ads, and so on all fit into that mould. (There is a secondary class of more defensive plays such as Android that exist primarily to protect Google's most important channels).
At Airtasker our purpose is to act as a new type of connective tissue for the services economy. We bring people who need a particular type of skill with the people who possess that skill. That is our purpose, and remembering that makes all other decisions easier.