Ian Chamandy is the Chief Purpose Officer of Blueprint Business Architecture, where he has helped over 400 organizations define what makes them uniquely remarkable — in just seven words or less. Through his Blueprinting process, Ian guides CEOs to uncover their organization’s true purpose, aligning every part of the business around that core idea. This clarity drives strategy, culture, and communication across all levels. Ian is also the co-author of “Why Should I Choose You?: Answering the Most Important Question in Business in Seven Words or Less” (HarperCollins) and a respected speaker and media contributor. His work helps leaders articulate their company’s essence, inspire their teams, and create a roadmap for purposeful growth and transformation.

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What if you could define what makes your business uniquely remarkable — in just seven words?

In this episode of Talking with the Experts: Business Insights, Rose Davidson sits down with Ian Chamandy, Chief Purpose Officer of Blueprint Business Architecture, to explore how a clear and concise purpose can transform your company’s future.

Ian has spent two decades guiding over 400 organizations through his Blueprinting process — a proven method to define an organization’s essence in seven words or less. He explains how this single phrase becomes the compass for leadership, culture, and communication, empowering everyone in the company to make smarter, more purpose-driven decisions.

From aligning your team to elevating customer loyalty, Ian reveals how purpose creates a consistent, authentic brand presence that cuts through noise and drives long-term success.

You’ll discover why what your customers are buying isn’t always what you’re selling — and how purpose bridges that gap.

If you’re a CEO, entrepreneur, or leader ready to build a business that inspires both your team and your clients, this conversation will help you define your unique superpower — clearly, confidently, and concisely.

💡 Three Key Takeaways

1. Discover how to define your company’s true purpose in seven words or less.
2. Understand why clarity of purpose drives alignment, growth, and innovation.
3. Learn how your “uniquely remarkable” identity can transform leadership and communication.

• Ian believes the single most important asset any organization has is knowing what makes it uniquely remarkable, using Canadian banks as an example where they appear similar externally but have totally different internal cultures.
• Organizations need to identify their core uniqueness because employees come and go, but the thing that makes a company uniquely remarkable should always be there as the guiding light for everything they do and say.
• Businesses that are resource starved but purpose rich can become “the little train that could” because when everything flows from their core purpose, execution becomes consistently remarkable rather than hit and miss.
• Apple’s purpose is changing the game – they never invented anything but took existing products and made them a hundred times better, which is evident in everything they do and say.
• IBM has maintained the same path through generations of management changes by selling the most advanced business technology to the biggest companies, demonstrating how unspoken cultural guardrails keep companies on their uniquely remarkable path.
• Finding what makes a business uniquely remarkable requires a process similar to therapy where companies must consider the fundamental question: if everything you do is a means to an end, what’s the end purpose.
• Blueprint development involves a draft team of the CEO and up to three key decision makers who collaboratively create the purpose statement, which then gets socialized to the board and senior executive team.
• John’s retail shelving company discovered their purpose was “opening sooner” when they realized their three generations of experience enabled them to complete Home Depot installations significantly faster than competitors.
• Opening sooner became a powerful sales tool because it immediately addresses one of the two main concerns of construction VPs – staying on time – while promising to beat deadlines and generate unexpected revenue.
• Purpose serves as a crucial decision-making tool that simplifies complex business choices by asking which option is most aligned with the company’s core purpose rather than weighing all possibilities equally.
• Ian’s website at sevenwords.biz contains approximately 30 videos in the blog section covering topics like how purpose accelerates sales, makes training more sustainable, and speeds up merger integrations.
• Mergers and acquisitions can be completed faster when companies identify their combined purpose, as both entities want to become the merged version rather than resist integration like the poorly handled Air Canada and Canadian Airlines merger.