Case Study: LIGHTING THE WAY: How we’ve helped PMI turn Purpose into a Movement

Image credit: PMI

What do you do when your organization powers the world’s greatest transformations—but no one gives your profession any credit?

That was the challenge facing the Project Management Institute (PMI), a U.S.-based not-for-profit professional organization for project management. 

PMI serves millions of professionals, including over 730,000 members in more than 200 countries and territories, with over 300 chapters and 14,000 volunteers supporting local communities all over the world. Through this global network—and its gold-standard certifications, career-long learning opportunities, and community-driven impact—PMI empowers current and aspiring project professionals and organizations with the tools to lead effectively and create real change.

Despite enabling progress everywhere though, from day-to-day projects and corporate transformations to sustainable infrastructure projects and global health programs — project management has historically remained invisible. 

Functional. Undervalued. Uncool.

Image credit: Unsplash

PMI’s new leadership knew it was time to change that.

In partnership with us, PMI embarked on a bold transformation: to define a shared Purpose that could ignite pride, sharpen strategy, and reframe the role of project professionals for a new era.

Starting with why

When Chief Marketing Officer Menaka Gopinath joined PMI in 2023, she began by asking a fundamental question: What is our reason for being?

The answers she heard were inconsistent. Familiar phrases like “home of project professionals” didn’t go deep enough—and were underrepresenting the true scale of PMI’s role in enabling progress across the globe. It became clear that the organization and the profession it champions needed a new narrative. 

Image: Menaka Gopinath, PMI CMO

As Menaka puts it: “The world didn’t need a new slogan. It needed a shared belief that project professionals are essential to progress.” 

So we went back to the origin story of PMI as a community built by and for people who make things happen. And together, we shaped a Purpose statement that recentered the profession around its transformative power:

WE MAXIMIZE PROJECT SUCCESS TO ELEVATE OUR WORLD

Maximizing clarity

Of course, defining Purpose is just the beginning. Making it real requires rigorous alignment and wide belief. PMI’s leadership, board, and cross-functional teams engaged in robust dialogue, interrogating every word. “Elevate” sparked heated debate, but that tension created traction.

Part of maximizing clarity around the new Purpose statement’s desired outcome was rethinking and sharpening what “project success” really means. This led to the largest research study in PMI’s history, looking to establish and define success. The result? A new, human-centered definition of project success that values long-term impact and stakeholder outcomes alongside traditional success KPIs such as ‘on budget’ and ‘on time’.

Moving into action

“Purpose became the connective tissue” says Menaka, “aligning teams, focusing decisions, and turning strategy into action.”

To move from meaning and clarity to action, we co-developed three core commitments that translated the new Purpose into practical focus for everyone in the wider PMI Ecosystem. 

The three commitments—More Managers (filling the talent gap), More Effectiveness (maximizing project success), and More Impact (elevating our world) acted as unifying design principles for PMI’s entire ecosystem, helping teams make smarter decisions, prioritize more effectively, and deliver with greater Purpose.

Image credit: Unsplash x rawkkim 

Whether refining certification pathways, launching new learning journeys, or designing chapter experiences, the new Purpose and the three commitments gave PMI a common language. They helped reduce internal churn, aligned stakeholders across geographies, and created sharper strategic focus at every level of the organization.

From strategy to a meaningful story 

While product teams started to deliver against the new Purpose and commitments, marketing began to tell compelling stories that reflect how project professionals were already embodying the Purpose in their work, turning the spotlight from what project professionals do, to what they enable in their organizations and in the world at large. 

Those stories also worked its magic inside the organization, giving everyone in the PMI’s ecosystem a new sense of meaning, clarity, direction and connection with each other 

As Menaka put it: “Purpose wasn’t something that had to be invented. It already existed within the stories and actions of PMI’s global community. The real task was surfacing it—and making it visible, tangible, and actionable.”

Image credit: Menaka Gopinath at the Global Summit 2024

Want to go deeper?
Read our full conversation with PMI CMO Menaka Gopinath about the Purpose journey, lessons learned, and why alignment was everything.

Purpose as a driver of new growth

For a not-for-profit like PMI, growth means increasing the relevance and reputation of the profession. The new Purpose was launched in January 2024, and by August, the results were clear:

Among decision makers, PMI saw a strong surge in brand momentum. Their perception of PMI’s project management expertise, their trainings’ ability to prepare employees to make an impact, and their ability to help employees deliver on strategic goals improved between 20-30% year-over-year.

And among project professionals, the value and reputation of PMI rose sharply, as well. Their perception of PMI’s project management expertise, ability to provide transferrable skills, and their reputation with employers and recruiters improved between 40-70% year-over-year. PMI also debuted a brand-new brand attribute in 2024 “helps me increase project success” with a standout benchmark index with project professionals.

“At PMI, Purpose didn’t just inspire people. It changed perception—and proved itself as a driver of both impact and performance”, says Menaka.

Elevating our world

At PMI, Purpose is no longer just a belief. It’s the foundation for everything - helping elevate not just a brand, but an entire profession. In a world that desperately needs ideas turned into action, elevating project success might just be the lever that lifts us all.

If anything sparks your interest in this or the following articles, please do email philipp@purposefulgrowth.co