Investing.
— Without a sense of purpose, no company, either public or private, can achieve its full potential. It will ultimately lose the license to operate from key stakeholders (Larry Fink CEO Blackrock)
In a seismic shift of doctrine, in August 2019 the US Business Roundtable, a consortium of America’s largest businesses, decided that creating shareholder value was no longer the prime and singular purpose of business.
Instead they placed shared purpose at the heart of corporate strategy in a statement that declared that, in addition to long-term shareholder, value, customer value, investing in employees, fair and ethical supplier relationships, and care for the community and environment were also the purpose and responsibility of a business,
In our view this statement recognises the fundamental importance of Emotional Ownership© and changes the meaning of investment. Investment is no longer simply a financial transaction. Whether we invest in a business, now also encompasses whether we work for it, or buy its products and services.
In other words —
“Does my ‘brand of me’ want to display Emotional Ownership© of this other brand or business, by giving it the benefit of our talent, or through its purchase and public use?
”
The foundations of Emotional Ownership© are shared purpose and shared agency.
Shared Purpose asks stakeholders to buy into the ‘why’ of a business. Clarity in terms of what we do make or sell, and our culture and values, the way in which we do these things, are no longer enough to secure investment. Business has to broadcast its ‘prospectus of purpose,’ that is why we do what we do, and seek approval for it from stakeholders
Shared Agency gives stakeholders not just a vote but a voice in the progress of a brand, and as a creator of environments for work in which talent can flourish in the delivery of purpose.
