Purpose Fuels Passion And Passion Is Addictive

“Passion” – one of the most overused terms in business without a doubt. Almost every brand celebrates passion on its list of values. Yet in our personal lives, it’s a rarely used word – almost antiquated. “I feel a raging passion for you!” I’d be scared if I was on the receiving end of that one. Restraining order please.

So why is passion so commonly attached to the DNA of many brands? And what does it really mean?

Passion can’t be plugged into a brand or an employee. It may be in the company’s brand book, or the staff orientation guide, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a value that’s organic and from the heart. And it’s linked to another overused, but more realistic word – “authenticity”. Passion has to be authentic. It can’t be faked.

I recently received a call from a recruiter representing Yahoo! In the course of a five minute phone call, she told me that passion was a must, but she also said that an MBA and an education from an Ivy League school was ideally required. Sure there are passionate folks who come from such a background. But if passion is truly key, this approach to recruitment, and therefore to the brand, is flawed.

There’s a big difference between being driven and being passionate. Passion comes from the heart, not the mind. So by excluding so many passionate folks in favor of a smaller pool made up of largely privileged graduates, the company is reducing its passion pool. Passion from the heart can open up the mind so wide that it can absorb the formal components related to the role. On the flipside, it’s much harder to take a purposeful or driven career builder and inject them with passion.

I am the former CMO of the Virgin Entertainment Group. I graduated from a reasonable university in the UK, but my passion overrode my career drive. I knew that if I indulged and focused my true passion, life would work out. And for me, that passion was all things music and media. So instead of applying to a million companies, I spent my time looking for one or two businesses that valued passionate people in their ranks. I recognized Virgin as one such brand, and Richard Branson as a passionate man who believes that a passionate culture leads to success. I became a sales assistant and then a display assistant at his retail chain for £45 a week. If I could use my passion to the best effect, I knew it would be recognized as an asset for the brand. And it worked. I was running all marketing activity for the UK and Ireland within two years. In my case, passion prevailed.

Passion is inextricably linked to culture. The two go hand-in-hand and are completely reliant on each other. And there lies the addiction component. It’s the point of intersection between personal passion and the vision of a brand that places a huge emphasis on culture. Brands that celebrate and reward the impact of personal passion on achieving the company’s vision lead to success.

Sure, other factors are vital for success. But the passion of an individual can have a massive effect on those around him or her. It can’t be injected into others, but it can inspire them, and once organically absorbed, it can become addictive to not only internal teams, but also to the company’s customers.

A great example of a passionate brand is Whole Foods. Just walk into their stores and you can feel an authentic sense of personal passion and expression at all levels, which is the basis of Whole Foods’ unique cultural and brand differentiation.

There are other examples, but not many. Some categories are wide open for someone to take the lead. In these times of changing values in American society, businesses must start to think seriously about how true organic passion can be nurtured, celebrated and shared. As consumers, most of us could use a bit more of it in our lives. We want to feel good in our heart as well as our mind and our wallet. And that leads to loyalty.

UNCOMMON SENSE OBSERVATIONS

• Passion can’t be created, it comes from within. Unlock what you’re truly passionate about and you’ll be able to make others passionate about it too.
• Passion and logic rule two different sides of our decision making process. Allow both sides to inform your thinking and balance a tendency to lean on one too much with experimentation towards the other.
• Passionate leaders can inject passion throughout organizations when they share what they care about. They can turn people on in ways that other leaders never will.
• Celebrate and reward the people around you that act on their passion–in every aspect of life. Let them be the examples to fuel passion in others.
• Look for examples of passionate companies around you and explore how passion fuels them. There’s a lot to be learned from the people around us.