2. Walt Disney – the original imagineer,
the man whose dream built an
empire – said, “I only hope that we
don’t lose sight of one thing; that it
was all started by a mouse.” Disney’s
curiosity, ideas and imagination
inspired millions, redefined the
business of entertainment and
created one of the most successful
brands in the world. That heritage
has inspired a purpose driven
by making people happy. All of
the company’s strategic business
developments and goals relate back
to that core purpose.
“Whatdoyoustandfor?”asksLaura
Haynes,chairmanofbrandconsultancy
Appetite. “What is the impact you’re
having?” Those questions began a
discussion on purpose, facilitated
by Appetite, that drew on ideas
from philosophy, communications
theory and social change drivers.
The event, ‘Business, on purpose’ is
the first in a seven-part series that
will explore purpose and the way in
which organisations interact with their
communities and the wider world.
Corporate purpose is something
being reexamined by board rooms
worldwide, but its roots are deep. The
earliest ‘corporations’ – the Roman
EmpireandtheCatholicChurch–both
had a strong purpose that guided their
actions, the beliefs of their employees
and leaders and the strength of the
communities they helped build.
Public services organisations
are no different. The NHS says
its purpose is, “We create the
culture and conditions for health
and care services and staff to
deliver the highest standard of care
and ensure that valuable public
resources are used effectively to get
the best outcomes for individuals,
communities and society for now
and for future generations.” Doctors
also ascribe to the Hippocratic Oath,
one of the earliest examples of a
profession-wide ethical standard.
Police forces, fire brigades and
militaries also operate with the
purpose of acting for the public
good – an interest that upholds their
responsibilities to stakeholders.
Modern businesses are built
on their forebears, many of which
emerged during the Industrial
Revolution.Thaterawasknownforits
technological innovation, but also the
development of workers’ rights and a
business’ social purpose. While then,
as now, some companies executed
unethical operations, some offered
their workers healthcare, housing and
support because they recognised
that a happy, healthy employee was
a productive employee – and that
makes a difference to the bottom line.
Speakers at ‘Business, on purpose’
said the day-to-day reflection of
the corporate purpose is if it gets
employees up in the morning and
encourages them to be productive at
work. Thus, the internal positioning
of the company’s purpose should
allow employees to feel like they are
part of the organisation’s success.
Externally, purpose can be simply,
‘selling the best products’ but for
many, purpose focuses on the
company’s role in the communities
in which it operates and its
contribution to the overall social and
environmental good.
Gordon D’Silva, founder and
chairman of the Good Business
Alliance has championed this
positioning. Though Haynes had
to present D’Silva’s comments as
he was called out of the country
unexpectedly, he says, “The
For all intents
and purposes
Corporate purpose can have a huge impact on the long-term success of
any company. From where should it arise within the organisation and how
should a purpose-driven change programme be implemented? Speakers at
the ‘Business, on purpose’ event share their thoughts
1
3. greatest challenge to private capital
in the 21st century is the rise of
global inequality and it’s the social
entrepreneur who can help find
management solutions to ongoing
and perennial societal problems that
can impede business advantage.”
He says CSR was an initial step
in this direction but that it became
motivated by brand building and
promotion. This led to CSR activities
being criticised of greenwashing
and of not effectively helping the
communities they purported to be
supporting. D’Silva says companies
have started to realise that societal
issues affect them. Unilever knew
its target audience was women, but
found that many women were not
financially independent in a way
that would make them in charge of
purchasing decisions. By fighting for
female empowerment and supporting
women globally, it facilitated profits
from a key audience.
What is required now, he said, is
for social innovators – the dreamers of
the world – to ally with entrepreneurs
to make change. Profit and social
good are not mutually exclusive, he
argues,particularlywithinthemodern
business world. “The free market
economy is indeed still the only
socio-economic system capable of
We believe
businesses
should seek to
create long-term
sustainable success
that benefits all
of its stakeholders
and wider society
as well
2
4. delivering a model for good business,”
says D’Silva, “But the biggest threat to
business growth is the unparalleled
growthinsocietalinequalityandthat’s
one of the things that new business
modelsinthefuturewillneedtosolve.”
The Good Business Alliance is
a kind of tangible solution to the
thinking behind corporate purpose.
Companies are seeking to define
their roles in society. They want to
position themselves as successful
businesses, but ones that can address
issues affecting their communities.
And it’s good for business, too.
In 2009, McKinsey studied the link
between CSR and financial results,
finding that CFOs said CSR was a
benefit to shareholders, but that
they couldn’t pinpoint how.
This year, a Guardian article on
transparency in business said ethical
operations and transparent leaders
made for a better culture and a
happier workforce. This then has a
direct impact on the bottom line. The
evolution of the corporate approach
to acting ethically and for social
good strongly ties
into purpose.
That change, however, has to
be led from the top and reflect the
real culture within the organisation.
AnthonyCarey,partnerataccountancy
firm Mazars, says the board has the
responsibility to lead the organisation
through change to create purpose.
For Mazars, the recession made the
relationship between business and
society that much more apparent.
The financial crisis saw 77%
of people in the U.S. and 67% in
the UK say they trusted business
less in 2009 than they did in 2008,
according to the Edelman Trust
Barometer. In 2007, the study
recorded 58% of people in the U.S.
say they trust business to do the right
thing. That number dropped to 37%
in 2008. In the UK trust stayed level
at 36%. In the U.S., that number is
back up to 65% this year and hit
67% in the UK in 2014.
That severe decrease in the belief
that business can do the right thing
led Mazars to develop its culture
and corporate purpose and rethink
its relationship with society. “We
wanted to look at how business
could help rebuild that relationship
with society for the benefit of
business as well as society,” Carey
says. “That’s what led us to doing
the board charter. We were keen
to make a contribution that would
actually make things happen. We
believe businesses should seek to
create long-term sustainable success
that benefits all of its stakeholders
and wider society as well.”
For Mazars, that purpose was
3
5. strongly entrenched with the board.
“If there was going to be change,”
he says, “The board had to buy into
it.” But, what was key, Carey adds, is
that the purpose should be embedded
throughout the business, not just
with the leadership team. “It’s almost
like a country’s constitution,” he
says. That can be a conversation that
goes both ways too, as employees
should help leaders understand what
the company’s culture is all about
and what values are important to
them. Carey says, “Make sure, as a
board, that the culture is what you
thinkitis.It’sabsolutelycriticalifyou’re
going to build a purposeful business.”
By leading the organisation
through a change, particularly
one geared around purpose, the
company can manage its reputation
in the long term.
Nicolas Mamier, Appetite’s
managing partner, who spoke next,
discussed the ways in which a
corporate purpose can be defined and
articulated. For a full breakdown, see
the sidebar on page 5.
He likened companies to actors
or performers in that they are skilled
at building connections and bringing
the audience – in this analogy, their
employees – into the performance.
He advocates for a participatory
culture. “Your companies and your
purpose don’t exist in isolation. Each
and every company exists within
the wider world and has a role
to play and a responsibility to its
communities,” Mamier says.
He says people who believe in
their organisation’s purpose are more
productive and happier at work,
which leads to better retention, lower
turnover and increased employee
recommendations. This makes for
a more sustainable employer brand.
For companies to compete in a
challenging marketplace for the best
talent, they have to differentiate
themselves in some way. A coherent
and effective corporate purpose is a
strong way to do so.
Once employees do join the
Dell had lost its way. It was
competing in a challenging sector
against companies with a well-
defined sense of self. It needed to
get back to its original purpose –
producing technology that allows
people to reach their full potential.
Sarah Shields, executive director
and general manager in the UK,
says acquisitions and growth led
to a dilution of the brand. Yet Dell
was founded by an early computer
visionary, Michael Dell, who led the
organisation through a purpose-
driven change that allowed it to
regain its identity.
Acquired companies were aligned
to Dell’s brand values and integrated
into its culture. Privatisation helped
Dell focus on its purpose for the
long term without concerns over
share price. Now, 90% of employees
say they’d recommend Dell.
Every employee is aligned to
our strategy. Everybody feels part
of Dell’s success. Having that
common purpose pays dividends,”
Shields says.
TRANSFORMING
ACORPORATE
CULTURE
4
6. Three steps to purpose, with advice
from Oliver Cromwell (pictured),
from Nicolas Mamier, managing
partner of Appetite
Examine for truth
“The unexamined life is not worth
living,” – Socrates
Companies should listen to their
employees when defining their
corporate purpose.
Pause for brave thought
“The most courageous thought is
still to think for yourself. Aloud.” –
Coco Chanel
A consistent culture is arrived at
through the consideration of a
company’s place in the world and
the promise it makes to its people.
Activate belonging
“My army won because they knew
what they were fighting for and
they loved what they knew.” –
Oliver Cromwell
The internal audience should feel a
sense of belonging and recognition.
PURPOSE,IN
PRACTICE
company, that purpose has to be
reflected in the internal culture. Andy
Moore, insights and research director
at Brand Finance and Sarah Shields,
executive director and UK general
manager at Dell, document instances
in which this is achieved.
Shields says growth and change
in the business itself prompted
inspirational leader Michael Dell to
return the organisation to its core
purpose: “To deliver technology
solutions that enable people to grow
andstriveandreachtheirfullpotential
everywhere.”
That purpose is of course geared
toward customers, but it required a
company that had expanded through
acquisition as well as returned to a
private business model to establish a
consistent internal culture. For more
from Dell, see sidebar on page 4.
Similarly, Vodafone, at which
Moore worked prior to joining
Brand Finance, had to integrate a
global workforce behind a single
purpose in order to achieve its goal
of becoming a top-ten brand. “The
goal, to be honest, had its origins
in commercial necessity,” Moore
says. But that allowed Vodafone’s
purpose to seep through every layer
of the company and drive change.
The mentality of connecting people
became the call to action and was the
force for change internally as well as
the external objective.
The change paid off as
Vodafone was named the number
five brand in the world and saw
its goal of connecting people
bring the organisation together
and its commercial activity
reach new audiences worldwide.
Moore says linking the business
strategy, different audiences and
purpose is key to success. Many
programmes, like Vodafone’s or
M&S’ Plan A programme, begin as
internal-facing and then reach out
customers to great effect.
Moore adds, however, that
proving the success of a change
programme driven by purpose is
a tricky necessity. As purpose is
determined by business leaders and
tied closely to commercial objectives,
it should have a clear impact on
bottom line. But measuring that
impact requires identification of the
key drivers affected by purpose.
5
7. Brand Finance, which evaluates
brand and intangible assets,
advocates setting clear objectives and
identifying ways in which to measure
the impact of purpose at the outset.
Moore says there is a tendency to
post-rationalise and select indicators
that prove the outcome after the
change process has occurred which
can lead to false ROI measures.
Often, purpose-driven change
has an effect on customer retention,
recruitment and turnover rates –
those can be measured before and
after the programme. “The key
stakeholders when we’re talking
about the topic of purpose would
be the employees at the centre, and
then the customers,” Moore says.
“A strong purpose will impact very
powerfully on the employees.”
Engaged employees then improve
customer relationships, which leads
directly to an impact on the bottom
line. “The employee can be such a
powerful multiplier of purpose,”
Moore says.
Disney is responsible for the
success of leading art school,
CalArts, at which many future
employees are educated, a thriving
family of theme parks run by ‘cast
members’ and an internal culture
that both feeds off and informs the
cult-like reverence it inspires in its
external audience. Strong purpose is
responsible for most of this success.
Purpose can make a difference to
any organisation, but it has to start
fromthetop,impacteverystakeholder
group and reflect the business
objectives set out by the company.
Appetite’s series of seven events on
corporate purpose will continue with
the next event, ‘Crossing the burning
bridge, on purpose.’ Full details to
be announced shortly.
The key
stakeholders when
we’re talking
about the topic
of purpose would
be the employees
at the centre,
and then the
customers
6
8. There was a time when the world
was compartmentalised – no more.
There was a time when the
roles of government were clear,
the role of business was clear, the
role of charities (as they were called)
was clear.
But the world has changed – and
with it, the world of business.
It’s not enough to just
manufacture a product or deliver
a service that ‘people want,’ or
even to provide the best customer
experience.
We have all begun to realise that
businesses, like people, are part of a
larger community and that they play
a role – an increasingly important
and influential role in society – and
with that comes the responsibility
to think beyond the linear
production for profit to delivery of a
better business.
This has been part of my own
personal journey; I have always
wanted to change the world for
the better.
I have been lucky that I have been
able to fulfil that ambition, working
with some of the best companies in
the world as a brand consultant.
I have always sought to create
better strategies, better working
companies, better environments for
employees, better articulation of
difference and better business.
Over the years, I have seen
companies begin to recognise that to
be better, they could no longer
(if indeed they ever could) operate in
a vacuum.
First and foremost, businesses
are accountable to their owners,
whether they are investors on a
public stage, or private families or
cooperative individuals. They are
also accountable to governments,
regulators, influencers to act in a
certain way, to deliver honestly
and to report their actions and
increasingly, their behaviour.
Third, they are accountable to
employees; no longer is it just the
delivery of fair benefit because
the union demands it. There is a
competition to find and retain the
best talent. The world is changing
quickly and to succeed, companies
need the best and the brightest to
contribute to their success and to
keep them ahead. Increasingly,
employees are choosing to work
with companies whose values,
ambitions and behaviours align to
their own beliefs system.
Clients and consumers are also
choosing to buy brands they believe
in. They can only do this if and
when they know what those brands
do believe in and stand for. In the
corporate world, reputation, licence
to operate and regulator support
all play a large part in determining
success and value.
Purpose – who you are and why
you are here as well as your guiding
values – are all key to success. I
would even go so far as to suggest
that it is one of the key game
changers in the business world
today and those that know this and
address it will be the winners
of tomorrow.
We recognise that to many, it is a
complex and challenging goal; there
is much to explore about purpose and
much to understand.
We have embarked on a journey,
through our ambitious conference
programme, to open up the
conversation on purpose. We will
provide you with guidance and
inspiration to help you discover,
define, articulate and embed purpose
within your own organisation.
Laura Haynes
Chairman
Appetite Consultancy
Why purpose?
