Some thoughts for any business, consultancy or agency looking to transform and grow through the power of purpose....would love to hear from you ralph@thebrandexperienceconsultancy.com

1. VQ
VQ
JUNE 2016
Inside this issue
17 // VQ Topic An in-depth look at taking your business
through the accelerated growth phase we call‘Scale-up’
.........................................................................................................
55 // Keynote Speakers Insights and ideas from
some of the country’s leading business thinkers
.........................................................................................................
66// The Last Word
Iain Lindsay, Vistage Chair, asks whether you’re getting the most
out of Vistage Open Days
59
Bringing you the latest insights, trends and opportunities for the Vistage community
62
Scale Up
Thought Leadership
A proven formula for success
Are goal-setting acronyms DOA?
59 // Vistage Speaker Awards
A night of accolades and accomplishments,
acknowledging speakers for their dedication
62 // Face To Face
How to get the most out of 1-2-1 sessions with
your Vistage Chair
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2. 55VQ | Keynote Speakers
Keynote Speakers
W
hen it comes to business change has
always been the only constant.
Which is why managing and mastering
the right kind of transformational change
– the kind that inspires people, fuels innovation and
drives sustained growth – has always been the hallmark
of businesses that survive and thrive.
Traditionally a fear of the classic‘burning platform’has
often been the way corporations have kept people on
their toes and galvanized their corporate ‘fight or flight’
transformations - fear of losing customers, of loosing
market share, of new technologies, of new competition –
or simply of change itself.
But more recently an increasing number of businesses
are moving beyond the tradition notion of ‘burning
platforms’ to develop more purpose-led business
transformation driven by a compelling sense of corporate
and personal burning ambitions.
■ Branding on Purpose
This is because ‘purpose’ fundamentally encapsulates a
brand’s reason for being.
It explains why it exists and crucially the impact it
wants to make in the world beyond the pursuit of profit.
Whereas profit-led businesses tend to focus on what
their company does and how they do it. The purpose-
led business starts by defining why their company exists
and then looks to build the what and how around this
as irrefutable evidence and validation of the purpose-
in-practice whether this be what products to develop,
what talent to hire or how we all need to work together
around here.
All resulting in brands where the total internal and
external brand experience is being simplified, unified
and amplified around an irrefutable and shared sense of
corporate raison d’etre.
■ Purposeful Planets Aligning
The rise of Purpose-Led Transformation is also being
driven as a positive response to many of the challenges
facing modern corporate Boardrooms
Why the future of successful business transformation is moving beyond the traditional notion of
‘burning platforms’ to more purposeful ‘burning ambitions’.
● The crisis of trust in markets, institutions and
markets
● The need for more corporate transparency and
accountability
● The renewed focus on corporate ethics and good
corporate citizenship
● The challenge of attracting next generation talent
(a generation who increasingly want to work for a
‘cause’not a‘company’)
● The deeper involvement of consumers in co-
creating their brand experiences
All of which is encouraging businesses to stand-out
by passionately standing-up for why they exist, who
they are for and what they believe in a way that goes
far beyond the predictable‘mantras’of corporate mission
and vision statements.
It’s why Southwest Airlines purpose is all about
“connecting people to what’s important in their lives”
It’s why IKEA’s purpose is to “create a better everyday
for the many”
It’s why IBM’s purpose is to “create a smarter planet”
And why cleaning product brand Method’s purpose is
all about “people against dirty”
What’s clear is that business ‘purpose’ can come in all
shapes and sizes but what will always separate all great
purposes from this seasons ‘strategic slogan-ism’ will
be the courage of conviction a business can sustain in
harnessing the power of its purpose to edit the corporate
‘must do’(and‘must-not-do’) list across every facet of the
customer and employee experience.
When it comes to purpose it’s ultimately all about
demonstration not presentation.
Because purpose is something we feel, believe in and
act-on not remember and re-count.
And it’s ultimately the capacity
of purpose to move and motivate
people where it’s true power lies.
Profile – Ralph Ardill
Ralph Ardill is one
of the pioneers and
leading authorities on
Experiential Branding.
He consults with
SMEs and some of
the world’s leading
brands, including
Carlsberg, Barclays,
Sky, Tate Modern
and CBRE on how
to best bring their
brands to life inside
and outside their
organisations and
is an accomplished
writer, speaker and
consultant.
Unleashing The Power of Purpose
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3. 56 JUNE 2016 | VQ
■ Purpose Means Business
Another reason why this is taking-off with top-flight
business leaders is the increasing wealth of evidence
for the superior value potential and performance of
purpose-led businesses.
● 87% of leaders believe companies perform
better over time if purpose goes beyond profit
● 82% of people working for purpose-led companies
believe they will experience growth this year
● 50ofthemostsuccessfulbrandsacross28categories
researched over the last decade were ideas-led
● Brands with positive impact on lives outperform the
stockmarket by 120%
■ Unleashing Your Purpose
The business imperative for modern purpose-led
transformation to inspire future innovation and growth
has never been stronger.
So how can you best unleash your purpose?
Over the last 10 years I’ve helped dozens of businesses
discover, distil and disseminate their purpose during
which time I’ve identified and regularly helped to
implement the following practices as the hallmarks of
successful purpose-led business transformation.
● Shift your sense of urgency from burning platforms
to burning ambitions
● Establish a purposeful board and company-wide
coalition from outset
Kids Nowadays!
A
s a decade long member of Vistage, and
proud Vistage Ambassador, the main thing
I have noticed in my time is that business
owners are getting younger. A bit like police
officers really!
Granted the old guard still exists, those who like me
started their businesses in the ‘80s, (before most current
directors and entrepreneurs were even born) after years
of honing their trade and preparing themselves for the
role of business, those owners who have weathered
every storm by knuckling down and sticking to what
they know works.
However, the dynamic, has over the past few years
and especially since the recession, been shifting towards
younger and potentially less risk adverse director who
is disrupting the old regime of business and business
management.
I have found that in younger boards the lines of
management are much less defined with the views of
the whole team being taken into account for any and all
decisions. Businesses are much less led from the front,
instead a team approach is being adopted for starting up
a business as well as managing it.
Take Brew Dog for example, they are owned by over
14,500 “equity punks” who have raised over £20million
to date. These “equity punks” not only have a share in a
very fast growing, industry disruptive business but are
also able to comment on business development ideas
and benefit from discounted products and even a free
birthday beer!
These new and exciting boards, with their all for one
approach and their dedication to corporate and social
responsibility, are the future of global business, and that
isn’t going to change with statistics suggesting that 72%
of young people born after 1995, the Generation Z, want
their own business.
What still remains true is that these young boards
could, and indeed wish, to learn a thing or two from
the old guard about corporate governance. Whilst it is
refreshing to see a new and more collaborative approach
to business management at a senior level, and long
may it continue, care must be taken to ensure good
governance is still adhered to so that these boards
endure the test of time.
Business and company failure lies in the hands of
those people that govern it. If these guardians of destiny,
that is the company directors, are not informed and
equipped to operate effectively, not only does this put
the business at substantial risk, but also creates personal
● Try starting a conversation inside yourself to
discover your genuine purpose and direction
● Frame your re-purposing journey around dominant,
familiar archetypes and/or symbols
● Powerfully bring to life your purposeful future
‘day-in-life’and‘making-of’stories
● Empower your‘Purpose Transformation’team
to exemplify your future culture
● Find your‘purposeful people’(employees and
customers) and make them your heroes
● Deliver regular company-wide‘high-meaning’
purposeful moments and memories
● Carefully sequence purposeful‘interventions’to
build confidence/momentum
■ Purposeful Time
So the stage is set for purpose to define how businesses
succeed and grow in the future.
But ultimately purpose is all about people, the part we
play and what it means to each of us.
It’s about our life’s work and about a work-life well
spent. Imagine at some point down the line your grand-
children are asking;
“Grandad/Grandma, why did you spend so much time
at work?”
If your answer is a story they’d love to hear again and
again the chances are you nailed your purpose.
If not I’d suggest that’s one conversation best not left
to chance…
Profile – Jo Haigh
Jo is a corporate
finance specialist,
experienced in
putting together the
right deal at the right
time and in the right
format for growing
businesses. She is
a partner in FDS
Corporate Finance
and a partner in the
FDS knowledge, a
specialist training
and development
business.
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