"Organizations do not exist for their own sake ... survival is not an adequate goal. The organization's goal is a specific contribution to individual and society. The test of its performance, unlike that of a biological organism, therefore lies outside of it."
The first part of Drucker's comment that it is not enough to exist for the purpose of survival is right on the mark. Try being in business for the purpose of making the business last, and you'll find yourself and the business extinct.
Any business should of course exist for the purpose of something outside of itself. While there are things that can be done within to make that more effective, efficient and successful, it is still for the purpose of those we exist to serve that it remains.
If we lose that, we are already dead, then it's just of matter of going through the process of decay.
This is one of those things that certain types of people hate and resent, the fact that somebody outside of a business is who determines its success. In other words the customer - whether a consumer or business - votes with their dollars. It is those outside of our business that determines our survival.
In a way, it's our job to make sure those outside of us want us to survive for their sake, not for ours. That's the kicker and challenge of business. It's why those that care in business will continually do things to improve and provide what our customers want at a good price and with good service.
We have to understand that people want to do business with us for their sakes not ours; it is self motivated. If someone offers what we offer at a better price and great service, consumers won't remain loyal because they have a good feeling toward something we did for them in the past, they'll go to those that provide what they want at the price they're willing to pay.
They won't necessarily do this right away, it would happen over a period of time. They are willing to give us a chance to do it better, but they won't wait forever.
The bottom line is we can't exist so a business can survive, but rather we must strive to thrive in the market we serve, so consumers continually tell us with their dollars that they want us to stick around.
Other Peter Drucker Resources:
The Man Who Invented Management
Beyond the Information Revolution
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