Purpose: A CEO’s primary job

Corporate purpose is essential to a thriving company--and that purpose should be set by CEOs themselves. Jay Steinfeld, founder and CEO at Blinds.com, talks about how creating an authentic purpose laid the groundwork for his company's success.

Robin: Hello, and welcome to this edition of Brandonomics, an inside look at top brands and their marketing strategies. I’m Robin Tooms, VP of strategy at Savage Brands, and my guest again is the wonderful Jay Steinfeld, founder and CEO at Blinds.com. So Jay, welcome back to Brandonomics.

Jay: Good to be here, Robin.

Robin: Jay, you’ve had some wonderful stories to share about the Blinds.com brand. But what’s interesting is, you as the CEO believe a lot about corporate purpose, and that’s not only driven the brand but also the organization. So what advice do you have for other CEOs in your shoes about how they can take this idea to help them grow their own companies as well?

Jay: Sure. I think the first thing CEOs need to do is remember that the culture that they’re building should be deliberate and should be designed in a very specific way. And it must be authentic. It must be something that is true to the CEO, and not some type of goal or aspirational idea. And then once you’ve determined that–when I did that, I recall that that’s when my business really took off, when I knew that the true purpose of the organization was about empowering people. Then once you’ve done that, you must bring in likeminded people and, of course, discard the people who are not aligned with that.

Robin: Right. So this idea that the CEO is really in charge of setting that internal purpose that drives the culture, that’s the key job.

Jay: It starts there. And when you have organizations where it’s delegated to the HR department or to marketing, it never works, because people realize the CEO is behaving in a way inconsistent with what marketing and HR is telling them. So that has to start with the CEO and must be true and authentic to what the CEO believes, or it just won’t work.

Robin: Thank you. That is excellent advice. I will be sure to share it with all the CEOs that I know.

Jay: Thank you.

Robin: Thank you.

Robin: This has been another edition of Brandonomics, an inside look at top brands and their marketing strategies.

 

Blinds.com is the largest online window covering store in the world. At its heart, it is a passionate customer service and marketing company that connects the community to home décor trends and high quality window coverings. It’s been featured in numerous magazine, newspaper and radio publications.

https://www.blinds.com/