Bite Sized Business Tips
2 minute reads for the values-led business leader
Snippets for purpose and values-led business leaders about meeting our responsibilities to our team, customers, owners, communities and suppliers. Context is everything, so these aren't dogma - rather a stimulus for thought. Subscribe below.
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Scaling a data consultancy based on values – David Ellis
In a world where we (rightly) look for companies whose business it is to help us solve the climate and social crises we face, do you have a role if your company purpose isn't about these things?In this latest episode of the Karmic Capitalist podcast, I speak to David Ellis, ...
The servant leader and my rights
I (and many others) write a lot about the responsibilities of the leader, and what we should be doing to better the lot of our teams and our companies. What I see a lot less written about is the responsibility of that team, of employees to the company. But if ...
From the Dalai Lama to Experian – Isabel Kelly’s road from campaigner to business change
What human impact does your business have? Isabel Kelly watched first hand how business influence was used to secure the release of political prisoners. That left her with a lasting impression of the power of business to positively impact human rights which she's taken with her in her business engagements ...
Great companies don’t prioritise size over mojo – Bo Burlingham
Bo Burlingham's excellent book, "Small Giants", charts the stories of companies for whom being great is more important than being big. In each case, the founders or CEOs faced very real choices between following tried and tested growth paths or doing something different and keeping their mojo. Sometimes, that meant ...
We’re trying to standardise what “good” is, but we shouldn’t – Charles Radclyffe
Much of the ESG drive, especially in reporting, is to standardise what is good, what is ethical. Get to an index as definitive as sales or EBITDA for your environmental, social and governance impact. But does that make sense? Whose standards are the standard? Are anyone's standards entirely objective? This is ...
Are you doing so much that you’re crowding out what matters?
I work too much. I suspect I may be a workaholic. I keep trying to cram more into the same finite time that I had when I had less to do. But it doesn't do me good. And it doesn't help my family. I also don't believe it helps my ...
How Repc is closing the digital divide while fighting waste – Bevil Williams
To succeed in addressing today's large challenges, we'll need collaboration between business, government, the third sector and society. But we also need it translated from big words into a real difference on the ground. In this latest episode of the Karmic Capitalist, Repc's managing director, Bevil Williams, shows how to ...
The Good that comes when your business model aligns perfectly with your purpose – Tumelo’s Georgia Stewart
Stepping up to meet the global challenges we face today is going to need concerted action from us in all the various roles we play - as consumers, employees & bosses, voters & citizens, or parents & role models. But critically, we will also need to make our voices heard ...
Is your sustainability certificate greenwash, limited, or expansive?
Is your sustainability certificate really making a difference? How deep does it go? Has it helped shape your commercial strategy? I see a lot of companies now brandishing their sustainability credentials. And that's a good thing. In my view sometimes even when it's greenwash (see earlier post). But your sustainability ...
It’s not about empowerment
Leaders should not empower their teams. We should not empower women. We should not empower under-represented minorities. As far back as I can recall, I've struggled with this word. Empower, for me, carries deep connotations of giving someone power. Of patronising people with power. But I don't believe you can give ...
How business fits into History, Anthropology, Climate, Society and what to do about it!
"We have everything we need to fix things and make it better for everyone in the world... Perhaps not the billionaires." Can business leaders make a serious dent in climate change? Mark Maslin, UCL professor of Sustainability, company founder of Rezatec and author of "How to Save Our Planet - the ...
We donated 16% of our time to charities in 2020
Purpose can be a real facilitator for growth and profitability. And in turn, growth increases your ability to make impact, while profitability allows the business to serve at a higher level. It's a wonderfully virtuous cycle when you get it right. A beautiful case study of this is Hyphen8, a Salesforce ...