Protect & Build Better

We've been dealt a crisis and an opportunity. The crisis is something we tragically see all around us, with its clear impact on health, lives and livelihoods.

But we also have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink business, and figure out how we can create successful commercial models that serve a bigger, more human and more conscious purpose.

"Protect and Build Better" is a framework for maximising the probability of survival through the crisis and recession, while at the same time building a forward-looking, profitable and purpose-led organisation. Here are its high level principles and the story that shaped it. The story where we nearly lost our company coming out of the crisis.

Bite size reflections on leading through this crisis

Are you a mini-Boris? Am I? Are we all?

On climate, on social issues, on using business for good - are we all mini-Borises? Boris's climate policies and plans (inasmuch as they exist) fall a long way short of Boris's climate promises. If you're generous, you may flatter him with a "road to hell paved with good intentions". If ... Read More

Guaranteed business failure

You can absolutely do things guaranteed to make your business fail. But unfortunately, there aren't things you can do which are guaranteed to make your business succeed. It is the same asymmetry at play in Seneca's sage quote that _"an age builds up cities: an hour destroys them. In a ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More

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 ... Read More

Don’t build a mansion on cardboard foundations

I'm stunned sometimes by how often the basics get overlooked and then bite your business in the most painful way. Founders are often visionaries. We have a dream of what we want to build. We have strategies. Purpose. Missions. Challenge is that the business needs to be continually fuelled while ... Read More

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