Acting on Purpose – a morning with Will Gardner

I’ve been around the question of what organisations are for since about 1983, and it’s easy to feel a bit jaded about whether anything really changes. So, it was great to take part in Will’s “pop-up” session today, to experience the vast energy and experience of the large group that turned up and got stuck in. I notice that a lot has changed since I first entered this field. It’s just easy to overlook just how far we’ve come.

When I started in this field the whole idea that business was about anything other than profit maximisation was very much a niche outlying interest of a few idealists and activists who never got anywhere near the boardroom table. We’ve now got these questions being asked by the leadership teams of many big companies: addressing wider purpose, impact and measurement is a strategic preoccupation for many.

At the same time, there is a lot to do, the earth systems within which business sits are strained, and it isn’t clear that the corporate purpose agenda can move fast enough or boldly enough to change that. And that’s what made today’s pop-up so important and such a powerful and practical joy to be part of. The “room” was full of people in corporate roles, or advising organisations, who are actively involved in working out these issues – and there was both a sharing of experience of what works, and a sharing of genuine and fundamental questions about how to do more and do it better. We hope that the attached recording provides you with lots of opportunity for reflection and that new and valuable connections come from it for everyone.

Speaking personally, I left the session with a strong sense of several messages:

• That we may well need some more “infrastructure” to help move this agenda. Customer pressure and peer pressure may help the take up of compliance with ISOs, and the adoption of all manner of schemes from becoming a B-Corp to embracing “regenerative” practices, but maybe we do need legislative action in this field every bit as much as we needed the Factory Acts and tobacco legislation. Waiting for enough committed and charismatic leaders to act with goodwill may simply not do the job.
• At the same time individual actions matter. The conversation about investing in the leadership skills needed – systems thinking, understanding group dynamics and power, narrative change skills, ethical thinking about externalities and inequity – all of these are vital and need to be on the corporate agenda of all of us with access to L&D budgets, OD practices and the setting of the executive agenda.
• Will it prove possible for capitalism to make the shift required? Well, it will or capitalism will be the loser. The ecosystem isn’t going to negotiate and, without live-supporting earth systems, eventually your profit isn’t going to get you far. So eventually a form will be found to meet the needs of those working in it. But on what timescale, and at what cost along the way? That’s what we are in the business of trying to explore and shift in this work.

It was great to see so much deeply engaged experience and expertise on the call: that gave me hope. It reminded me of Joanna Macy’s advice on systemic work – “don’t do this work alone”.  It felt good to be part of the community of practice brought together by that pop-up, and let’s hope that many new and creative connections come from it.

Meanwhile a big thank you to Will – great work. And a reminder that our next pop-up is on 8 February 2024, again at 0830, and features the brilliant combination of John Higgins and the Oxfam Whistleblower Helen Evans, exploring the importance of neurodiversity in senior leadership. It’s going to be good!

You’ll find an invitation to that pop-up here, and the recoding of today’s event is below.

Enjoy and see you all soon!

Chris