Experts gathered at the 10th Symposium, Companies with a Human Side, organised by the Chair for Management by Missions and Corporate Purpose of UIC Barcelona, together with the DPMC Foundation, have opted to incorporate purpose and spirituality in companies to achieve success beyond economic benefits.
Pablo Cardona, lecturer at the University of La Rioja (UNIR) and expert in leadership and talent management, explained that management by missions is a business model that goes beyond success in financial results and seeks to “implement a purpose that involves the entire organisation”. 

Under the title ‘The Great Multiplier of Purpose’, during his presentation, “Cardona insisted that companies “must focus on employees and there must be synergy with them”. “We have to bring the purpose of the company closer to the workers so that they see the impact of what they do, that they see that they can contribute and try to promote their personal purpose,” he added.

In addition to the employees, according to Cardona, the company “must also take into account the purpose of their clients.” In his opinion, “There has to be a balance between company, workers and clients, not a single piece can fall because this would have an impact on the final result”. It is what he has revealed as “the third dimension” in the management by missions. 

Rafael Domingo, the holder of the Álvaro d’Ors Chair at the University of Navarra, has referred to the importance of incorporating spirituality in companies, as well as in politics, society, health or law. For Domingo, “using abundance for reasons of love in the company spiritualises it.” “When abundance is the fruit of love, interaction is brought closer to the community and resources to the gift, the enterprise is spiritualised,” he added.

There were three rooms running at the same time as the Symposium, where three different sessions were organised with the title Experiences that inspire. The sessions were led by Julia Ybarra Domínguez, Social Projects Manager of City Sightseeing, Diego Soliveres Co-Founder of TIMPERS, Silvia Fernández, President Fundación Arte Palliativo and Diana Ballart CEO and co-founder of The Smart Lollipop.  

Finally, under the title “Give what we are. Organizations with a noble purpose”, Francesc Torralba, director of the Ethos Chair of the Ramon Llull University, analysed how purpose attracts and builds people's loyalty and how talent can be brought into the business environment.  “It is essential to define the purpose. Not all purposes are noble. We must distinguish between types of purpose, the end and the way of executing it," said Torralba.

Companies based on people and their values

The rector of UIC Barcelona, Alfonso Méndiz, opened the symposium. During his speech, Méndiz stressed the importance of companies having a “clear purpose that resonates with workers, suppliers, everyone”, although “it is not an easy task” because “it implies generosity with others”. 
The rector insisted on the need to give visibility to a model of business organisation “based on people and their values”, an approach that “fits with the ideology of UIC Barcelona, which places companies at the centre and is an example of transferring research to society”. 

The business management by missions represents a paradoxical change in any company fundamentally on two axes: management systems and leadership style. This change takes place in a coordinated way along these two axes, starting from a purpose that has content, authenticity and a sense of urgency.