From Position to Purpose: Redefining What it Means to Be #1

Have you ever been part of a team or organization whose goal was to be number one? “We want to have the number one sales division in the company!” “Our goal is to be the top ranked in the industry!” Rankings matter. They can lead to publicity, prestige, and increased revenues. But would you rather your organization be striving for position, or purpose? Might the latter lead to even greater publicity, prestige, and increased revenues? 

At the beginning of this year, my home team, the Ohio State Buckeyes football squad, secured a national championship. This is a major accomplishment. But as I looked back over their season and reflected on several news stories and interviews, I began to wonder if they had achieved something more than being the best football team in the country. I began to wonder if perhaps they had become the best football team for the country?  

Consider this. Throughout their championship season, news stories repeatedly described how coaches and players came together not just as a team on the field, but as a family. Everyone loved the victories, but they also supported each other through hardships, including game losses and personal struggles. In numerous interviews, players shared how they supported each other, even leaning into each other’s deeply personal faith traditions. Religion, skin color, politics, economic status—things that can divide groups—no longer mattered. They put others ahead of themselves. They were there for each other, and perhaps as an example for our nation.  

As they advanced toward winning the national championship, the 2024 Buckeye team demonstrated proven leadership approaches that work both in business and in everyday life. This level of mindfulness and other-centric action provided positive motivation to persist through the low points, the uncertainties, and the trials, whether on or off the field. This unity ultimately propelled them to the number one position. 

The Buckeyes demonstrated an approach to football that could, if we embrace it, return the sport to its foundational aspirations of helping young people understand the immeasurable value of physical health, working hard, being resilient, team dynamics, and caring for others so that, in the end, everyone benefits. They all acted as leaders, helping others reach their potential.  

For today, what if we rewrote our mission statements, but changed that one word? What if we challenged our organizations and teams not to be number one in… but to be number one for the cause, for our customers, for our students, for our patients? Being #1 in is positional. Being #1 for is about purpose or creating meaning. This is perhaps the strongest internal motivator ever.  

What is the bottom line? Being #1 in something is a great accomplishment, but it does not last long. Conversely, if we continually strive to be #1 for something, the positive impact can last long after rankings are forgotten.