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

Goodbye Friedman, Hello 2021

2021 will be a turning point for business. The rising swell we've seen for businesses to strengthen their social purpose, to build on values will become more mainstream. And if you lead a company, it will be a genuine choice you face. Which side of business history do you want ... Read More

2020 Was a year of real hope

2020 was a year that gave me some real hope. - Many companies stepping up to support their employees and communities;
- The environmental impact of lockdown;
- Our sudden collective appreciation of all the NHS and its staff does for us;
- How companies, universities and governments worked together at breakneck speed ... Read More

Leadership Just Got Harder in 2020… and we should welcome it

The table stakes on leadership just got higher in 2020. And that's a good thing.We need to make impossible balances. Impossible because they won't work for everyone. And more impossible because we've got to be sensitive to the fact that they won’t work for everyone, while still trusting in our ... Read More

Leadership needs to be completely different for remote. Or does it?

As much as leading is a responsibility and a privilege, it is an art and a craft. When you watch the best footballers play (RIP Diego), the ball looks like it's just an extension of their body. They are so natural and comfortable with it, it really doesn't sit apart ... Read More

How much more do you need?

As much of Europe goes into the second lockdown, and the psychological, mortal and economic costs mount up, we congratulate or berate world leaders for responses they've made. We wait for vaccines and either wonder why they're taking so long or marvel at a human mind that can create something ... Read More

The weather is grey – work doesn’t need to be

"Joy. And pain. Like sunshine. And rain" Anyone old enough (or South London enough) to remember that from the 80s? It's what we need right now. As second wave accelerates, as the days get shorter, as the economy tightens. We don't need to add more dark. Make an effort to ... Read More

If you can’t change the world, change yourself

Do we take offence, or do we change things? Or do we do both? There’s a lovely parable in Buddhist tradition. To walk in a world of thorns, we could remove all the thorns or cover every inch with leather. Or we can wear leather sandals. Many of our current ... Read More

The hype cycle on remote working

Headlines like to paint an extreme. So remote working is either our saviour, or the start of our demise. And the reporting has followed an accelerated form of Gartner's hype cycle. The hype told us that working remotely was all good - less commuting, more family time, greener planet. And ... Read More

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