purpose

On Purpose

That companies should have a purpose (and a purpose beyond making money for shareholders!) has become a basic tenet of good management practice.  You can barely move without people pontificating on the subject.  I have to admit to being slightly cynical about corporate purpose in the modern world – and indeed that many of those talking most loudly about their corporate purpose are those who take advantage of global structures designed to avoid paying taxes in almost all of them!  I strongly believe that the first purpose of all businesses should be to act as good citizens of the communities and countries in which they operate – and with that comes a responsibility to pay their taxes – and it is a responsibility is totally compatible with and actually far outweighs their fiduciary duties to shareholders!

Having got that out of the way it is also true that there is a great and long tradition of corporate and collective purpose being shown across history; from Roman soldiers showing their campaign medals to get food and lodging from supporters as they travelled ; via the philanthropic business owners who built places like Bournville and Port Sunlight to house their workers ; and even the fictional Bailey Brothers Building & Loan from Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life!  It is a history that has not been without some cul-de-sacs (the obsession with EVA promoted by Stern Stewart and others being one!) – or indeed some conflict – if we take a modern example it is clear that Uber’s desire to make getting a taxi easier and cheaper is clearly at odds with the desire of licensed taxi drivers in many cities to make a living.

The main advantage of Shaun Smith and Andy Milligan’s book is that it doesn’t spend too long on the sanctimonious side of why corporations should have a purpose beyond demonstrating that it matters to both employees and consumers.  Instead the book focuses on the “how” of corporate purpose - and is full of good stories, excellent examples and interesting links.  These are very wide ranging and cover experiences as diverse as those delivered by Punchdrunk, an innovative theatre company, and Premier Inn, the budget hotel chain.  It will then augment that range by covering not only Premier Inn, but also hotel chains as diverse in size and delivery as CitizenM (have to admit to being a huge fan) and Ritz-Carlton (also amazing but less frequently experienced!).  Many of these stories are clearly being told to Smith and Milligan by the people involved – and the enthusiasm of the practitioners in the companies shines through.  The stories are often of challenger brands like Metro Bank and giffgaff – but there are plenty of examples from market leaders too.

Am never sure if book reviews should really be saving you the effort of reading the book or encouraging you to do so!  In this case I can only say that reading the book will make you think of lots of ways, large and small, in which you can improve your own business – and can think of no higher accolade than that.

Alex Batchelor is COO of Brainjuicer. Read more from him here.
 

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