Three incredible experts made up our panel to look back at the year that is 2020. Whatever else it has given us, this year has brought purpose in business into the spotlight.
There’s been growing expectations on organisations to contribute to societal good alongside making a profit for a while, and we’ve been working with clients to help them define, deliver and communicate their purpose for years. Yet it’s this year of crisis that’s led to purpose in business becoming a real expectation.
To consider what this means, and what the future holds, we brought together our panel in a live webinar, hosted by our co-founder and Managing Partner Debra Sobel.
Here are the highlights – with perhaps some positives to take from an otherwise challenging year.
How do we separate out buzzwords and bandwagons from meaningful, authentic delivery on purpose strategy and engagement? That’s perhaps one of the key questions our panel grappled with as we talked about the explosion in purpose commentary and activity as the pandemic took over our lives.
Our experts had the answers. We were delighted to be joined by Professor Colin Mayer CBE, academic lead on the Future of the Corporation programme and co-chair of Enacting Purpose Initiative; Norman Pickavance, CEO, co-founder and director of St Paul’s Institute, Tomorrow’s Company and the Financial Inclusion Alliance; and Ken Banks, head of Social Purpose at Yoti.
There’s no going back and no hiding the fact. Our panel agreed that every organisation needs to embrace purpose now we’ve experienced this exceptional year. ‘That shift in emphasis…businesses perceiving social elements and a human element to corporate purpose. The notion of the role of business promoting the interests of society and not just shareholders is gaining impetus, broadened because of the pandemic’ said Professor Mayer. This comes with growing public expectation, especially off the back of emerging movements such as BLM.
‘Compare this to the financial crisis of 2008’ Professor Mayer reminded us. ‘The bank bailout had some initial public support that turned to derision when banks didn’t then recognise the issues in society more generally’. Norman Pickavance agreed, and said that the building purpose agenda has been slow to arrive – ‘we anticipated a more reflective role around business after the 2008 crash. But now we’re seeing societal disillusionment with those leaders who don’t understand the world’s challenges, exacerbated by the COVID crisis. The revolution is seeing business now working with society, finding a new role. Now, businesses can only be successful when engaged with society and addressing challenges together.’
This year – 2020 – is social purpose’s time. Norman Pickavance described how businesses finding a new role working with society is the revolution we’re now seeing and stressed that he believed businesses can only be successful when engaging with society. He considered how this would play out as we move into next year, and a likely recession. The challenge will be how we work together, as these challenges will only be solved by serving the common good.
The panel considered how the growing recognition around purpose this year is good – but that we also need a complete shift in mindsets. Norman Pickavance talked about how real problem solving would only happen if organisations make purpose central to what they do. Ken Banks believes that the COVID crisis, and other world events such as BLM have shaken things up this year, but that true mindset change has to come with a purpose that is truly authentic and aligned with core business.
Not simply jumping on a bandwagon. He says it’s OK to recognise that there’s work to do and to lay that out bravely. Brands can be a work in progress. But they need to action purpose and communicate it in a way that fits within their messaging and the core business they provide. Professor Mayer agreed that it wasn’t just about marketing. ‘The core strategy of business has to include purpose, and it should be quite specifically focussed on solving problems to give clarity on what an organisation’s core purpose is. There needs to be a precise, concise statement of why companies exist and what problems it is going to solve profitably’.
Professor Mayer agreed with Ken Banks around authenticity and expectation as purpose becomes a priority in the wake of 2020. ‘Narratives around purpose are critical and need to include a strong element of being willing to talk about failures as well as successes and how a company is turning it around.
“Companies shouldn’t wait for a crisis to act”
— KEN BANKS, HEAD OF PURPOSE, YOTI
This is about helping companies with a system that will assist them to implement purpose. Ken Banks wondered how we show a mistrusting public that it isn’t just corporate spin. Here, he said, ‘the most important thing is to observe how companies behave when they are not in the midst of a worldwide crisis. Companies shouldn’t wait for a crisis to act but should make purpose part of their DNA. Then, communication is important to have an authentic, aligned approach’.
Norman Pickavance described how he once took a group of CEOs to Athens, to meet struggling Greek banks, pensioners who’d lost their savings, unemployed graduates and refugees.
He argues that this level of engagement can be necessary to challenge perceptions of what it means to be a leader and to contribute to the world. He described how we’re now looking at a far deeper sense of ownership from leaders around what’s important. Something that extends beyond financial support; that connects brands with the issues that matter. He expressed concerns around the recent flurry of activity we’ve seen during this year’s crisis and warned against superficiality that could lead to scepticism.
The answer is a far greater level of personal ownership of purpose from leaders, alongside a level of humility that understands we are all only part of the solution.
Leadership is where choices are made – are they ready for the commitment?
Ken Banks agreed that ownership of purpose is a huge issue, and described how all costs to make Yoti purposeful came out of its operational budget, showing clear commitment. He said ‘if leadership commits, this trickles down to the rest of the team, new recruits are drawn to your business and it becomes a real differentiator. Purpose should be part of your DNA – but companies need profit. So there are clear business benefits, such as attracting better staff.’
It’s arguably easier to be purposeful when you’re a native purpose organisation – a brand set up to be purposeful from the start. Ken Banks felt that it was very difficult to have real, authentic purpose otherwise. This point was challenged by our moderator Debra Sobel, who felt that any organisation could find purpose within their core business, if the process is carried out effectively. Norman Pickavance agreed.
He understood the difficulties of retro-fitting purpose into your brand, but believes it can be done by everybody and become the heart of every organisation. It starts with strategy.
“The COVID crisis has disturbed our comfort that the world is predictable and any organisation and its leaders can now shift their perspective. Once this is done, many things will flow from there”
— NORMAN PICKAVANCE
Adding that ‘facing into challenges is difficult. But we do these things because they are hard and because they are meaningful. There isn’t always an easy fix, but this is all what we are here to do’.
So for organisations already under pressure – where to start?
Professor Mayer described how ‘the one thing we can all do right now is put employee wellbeing at the forefront. This is something that purposeful businesses are emphasising. We all want to feel fulfilled and committed to a common purpose. Business have to respond by respecting the trust that their employees have put in them. Employees need to trust in the authenticity around what the business stands for. Which is especially significant in this moment of crisis’.
