‘Purpose’ is a term used by businesses and entrepreneurs to define what they do and believe in. But what does it mean, and is it something you can implement in your startup or growing business?
In this ‘Deep Dive’ episode, I talk to Nick Ranger, a brand strategy expert who is the Managing Partner for a global consulting team at Brand Pie, a boutique brand transformation agency.
Brand pie recently released their annual CEO purpose report, and Nick joins me today to talk to you about the findings. You will learn what purpose is, and how you can implement it in your startup or growing business.
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Full Transcript (unedited)
Emma Drake:
Hello, and welcome to this episode of Communication Strategy That Works with me, Emma Drake. Hi everyone. How are we all doing today? I hope everyone is doing okay. I wanted to talk to you today about purpose. Purpose is a term used by businesses and entrepreneurs to define what they do and what they believe in. But what does purpose really mean? And is it something you can implement in your start-up or growing business? I talked to Nick Ranger, he’s a brand strategy expert and the managing partner for a global consulting team at Brandpie, a boutique brand transformation agency. Over his 30 years as a brand strategist, Nick has worked with some really impressive global brands, such as HP, Sony, Capgemini, Odeon, RBS, Bayer, Baker Tilly, and many more. Brandpie recently released their annual CEO purpose report, and Nick joins me today to talk about the findings with you. You will learn what purpose is and how you can implement it in your start-up or growing business.
Emma Drake:
Welcome Nick, welcome to the podcast.
.Nick Ranger:
Thank you, Emma. Very nice to be here.
Emma Drake:
It’s great to have you on the podcast today. Anyone who’s following me on social media at the moment will know that I’ve wanted to do an episode on purpose for quite a while now, and been trying to work out how to bring it to listeners on the podcast. It’s quite a big topic actually. So Nick’s company were involved in launching a purpose report recently, and Nick and I worked together a very long time ago, very long time ago on a branding project when I was in-house for a technology company a very long time ago.
Emma Drake:
And when I saw the report, I thought this is brilliant because this actually summarizes some of the key issues that I could talk to people about on the podcast. So Nick very kindly agreed to come on to the podcast today and talk to us a little bit more about purpose and what it means and a little bit about the report and findings.
Emma Drake:
First of all, Nick, why don’t you just give us a really quick intro to who you are, what the report is about.
.Nick Ranger:
Yeah. As you said, I lead the consulting team at Brandpie and we’re a purpose led transformation consultancy. What that means is that we help businesses to define their purpose and then to activate it in their organization and use it effectively to drive growth for what they do. And for us, purpose is a business tool, is the organizing idea that helps you define why you exist as a business and answers the question, why should we really care about who you are and why you’re here as a business and what do you have offer?
.Nick Ranger:
And because we think it’s a business tool, it’s something that CEOs or business leaders should own and be responsible for. And that’s really why we wanted to do the study, which is a study that asks CEOs around the world their views of purpose, what they think about it and how they’re using it and the value that they’re getting from it in their business. And it’s a study that we’ve been doing now for three years. We tend to ask between 700 to 800 CEOs across the UK, US, Germany, France, and this year we’ve added China and India to this study as well. Really international and global view, and build up a picture of the role of purpose in business and how it’s changing over time. And so this year has been the third year that we’ve done the study.
Emma Drake:
That’s brilliant. I thought it was, obviously, very in-depth and the things that I took from it, I think when I first saw the report is actually how it can help businesses build a successful brand and how important that is to growing businesses in particular. And things like when do customers attract and retain talent is an important one for start-ups actually, increasing engagement with the company.
Emma Drake:
Should we just cover what is it? Because we talked a little bit about this before we started today, but I talk about the “why” quite a lot on the podcast in terms of how businesses talk to their customers and how they explain what they do in a way that resonates with people. But it’s actually … The “why” is about understanding what your purpose is I think. So do you want to, just in your words, explain how you would describe that to listeners today?
.Nick Ranger:
Yeah. It is absolutely it should be about describing why you exist as a business and your role in the world. So it’s moving beyond what you do and how you do things. I think a lot’s been written about purpose over the years, and particularly by people like Simon Sinek, a lot of people know the motto he uses when he says, “We are absolutely focused on your why.” He’s absolutely right in that.
.Nick Ranger:
I think that’s a challenge for businesses to really think hard about that and get beyond what you do or how you do what you do and get to the real heart of why you exist and what that means in terms of the role that you’re playing in business and the role that you’re playing in society and why that matters.
.Nick Ranger:
And you’re right. When you were talking, we were talking about the role that purpose can play, and it can help to strengthen your brand and your relationship with your customers, but it can also do so much more than that. It’s a really important tool that business leaders use in forming their culture, attracting and retaining the best talent, particularly with younger generations today, where they really want to understand what a business is doing and the impact that it’s making in society, in the world, and in those local communities. And so it can really help to explain that and engage your employees in what you’re doing at a very different level.
.Nick Ranger:
But then also it’s about helping to explain how you’re working in the right ways, how you’re taking responsibility for what you’re doing and how you’re becoming a responsible corporate citizen and making a positive impact on the world and the society that we live in. So it can do many different things, but we think it’s most powerful when the business owner or the leadership team take responsibility for it and really own it, and use it as an organizing idea for everything that they do. So it’s the lens through which decisions get made. And when we see that happening, that’s where we see it having the most impact and really driving growth and building long-term value for businesses over time.
Emma Drake:
I can see that. I can see, and you highlighted this a bit as well in the report is that, so my background, as you’ll know, is sort of corporate communications in-house, and I actually started off life in internal communications. And in the nineties that was, for American companies, mission and values was … banging the corporate drum was really what it was all about and getting everyone on board with that.
Emma Drake:
I think that now, it just isn’t enough in some ways. People are, talk about myself here, we’re savvy, aren’t we? We know the difference. And I think between what’s sort of corporate and what’s real, and I think bigger businesses have had to deal with that, especially over the pandemic and dealing with things like how they treat people, what they stand for, their supply chain, all of those things. And I think lots of companies perhaps will be revisiting their mission and values, values in particular, and looking deeper inside the organization I think. Do you not think, Nick? I think that’s something that’s perhaps certainly-
.Nick Ranger:
[crosstalk 00:08:10] I think the pandemic in particular, but also things like sustainability and climate change and new regulations like ESG are all bringing the subject of purpose into the foreground for a lot of businesses. And it seems to be a way to answer a lot of those types of questions. We saw a lot of businesses during the pandemic, the ones who really had a clear idea of their purpose and were using it as that organizing idea and key thoughtful from what they do, found it a lot easier to transition through the pandemic and find ways of still contributing, or importantly, making key decisions.
.Nick Ranger:
So I think because it can be this organizing idea, it really helps business leaders to make faster decisions, more effective decisions because they’re using it as a lens through which to look. And if you don’t have that kind of guiding thought, it can often be more of a struggle to make the key decisions at difficult times, particularly when we’re in periods of real uncertainty like the pandemic. Nobody had been in that situation before, no living business leader had been in that situation.
.Nick Ranger:
So actually having a way of thinking, okay, well, if we stay true to our purpose and who we are and what we’re doing, what would that mean? How should we react? And I think there are examples of businesses that did that, either transform their production lines or try to retain their staff and not furlough people, unless it was absolutely essential, and just finding ways to contribute within their local communities. I think it has made an important difference. And I think as we’re emerging out of the other side of the pandemic now, hopefully, those businesses that have got a strong sense of purpose are going to be the ones that will be in a really better place to grow and perform as we emerge and hopefully go through recovery.
Emma Drake:
I think smaller businesses, interestingly, can be more agile, and smaller businesses are able to respond quicker I think. Because obviously things take longer in bigger companies to do and to implement. I think we saw a lot of supply chain and purpose led smaller businesses actually as well, that were able to just turn their hand to helping people and delivering stuff and using their supply chain to do things, deliver meals, make stuff. It was all very interesting.
Emma Drake:
I think it would be great if some of those smaller companies keep that moving forward. I think the other thing is that I work mostly with start-ups and growing businesses and scale-up businesses. And actually, most of the ones I work with now, I would say nearly all of them have probably had a purpose to start off with. Start-ups usually start with a want and a need, and that they’re usually started by younger people as well.
Emma Drake:
And I know we talked a bit about this before you came on today, Nick, but younger people have different ideas, don’t they? They have different views of the world. We both have children similar age, and we were talking about this, but if you look at the 30 under 30 lists and why people start businesses and start start-up businesses, there’s usually a purpose there. And I wonder if some point they lose that, Nick. I don’t know whether that’s part of growing, and is there any advice you have about how you can keep that? What are the things that people need to think about to make sure that they maintain that purpose as they grow perhaps?
.Nick Ranger:
No, I think you’re right. These are challenges as businesses grow and priorities change. And you’re right, you may start with a very single-minded view that this is something I love doing. I’m really passionate about it, and I know I can make a difference or build a business through what I love doing. And then as the business grows, other people come onboard, priorities do change. But I think there’s some … one of my favorite businesses at the moment, not just because they make great beer, but because they’re actually actually really clear about their purpose and what they do, is BrewDog.
Emma Drake:
Yeah. They were on my list, Nick, today, the one that I wrote down.
.Nick Ranger:
Yeah. The guys that run that business have got absolutely clarity about what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. And they really stay true to that. And I think there’s some great lessons there for anyone starting out, and to see a business like that go from being a very small, local enterprise to scaling and now becoming quite a significant global business, they have absolutely stayed true to who they are and what they do and why they are doing it.
.Nick Ranger:
And you can see that coming through in everything that they do really. And I think that’s the key thing, to keep that thought in mind, and to not lose track and get too distracted, and to try and look at all of the other issues that you’re going to have to face as a business leader through that lens. That’s when purpose can really play a powerful role in growth of businesses.
Emma Drake:
You say that, at that point where people start to come onboard and with their own ideas, and especially start-ups and scale-ups that usually would hire somebody who’s got experience of doing whatever it is, or manufacturing, operations, whatever they need. And they’ve worked other places, have an idea of how things need to be done. The strategy can get a bit muddled at that point, without that clear sense of purpose, and I think that’s where you get to realize, well, how strong it is maybe, at that point. Can we build a business on this? Is this what we set out to do? Is this what we’re doing? And BrewDog is a great example of that. I work with companies as well that want to change things. They want to build houses better. They want to build more energy efficient homes. They want to build them differently.
.Nick Ranger:
I think it’s now taking over from other concepts like mission and vision, because it has more scope to influence lots of other things in the business and be that organizing idea for what you do. And we found that it’s really a subject that’s here to stay. So just over a quarter, 27% of CEOs are telling us now that they already have a company purpose, but then the vast majority of others, some 60% are saying that they don’t have one, but they’re really on the journey of trying to define it and figure out what it is for their business.
.Nick Ranger:
So it’s really something that’s becoming central to how business leaders really think. As I said, I think there’s lots of influences that are playing out, that’s driving that thinking. And another really interesting finding is that over 80% of CEOs are now saying that their company is going to be much better at navigating sustainability and ESG and other important social environmental issues because they have a strong purpose, and it’s really going to drive a positive impact for their organizations.
.Nick Ranger:
But I think one of the most challenging things, because we’re not there yet in terms of purpose adoption across most businesses, is that actually, whilst a lot of CEOs were saying that, yes, it’s important and yes, we’ve defined it or we’re on a journey to defining it, a lot of businesses are really struggling to think about how to activate it. And that’s the real challenge, isn’t it? It’s all very well writing a purpose statement and saying, yes, I’ve identified why we exist and why that’s important, but then what am I going to do about it?
.Nick Ranger:
We found that 60% of CEOs were saying, actually, they’re uncertain about how to go about doing that. And I think that’s the next step for a subject line purpose is we need to help businesses figure out what they should do with it and how it should help to attract new talent, inform their culture. Yes, drive their brand. That’s where we started the conversation today, but also influence things like what they do as a business, their business processes, their supply chain, the kind of partners that they choose to work with in their business networks. And obviously their environmental commitments, they work in their local communities, their sustainability policies. And purpose can sit at the heart of all of that, how it can influence everything that the business does.
Emma Drake:
I think that’s a really interesting point to make. And like you say, perhaps we’re not there yet. And I think sustainability in particular. I work a lot in the property and construction sector, and sustainability is obviously a big topic because the build environment is a huge contributor to waste and environmental impact.
Emma Drake:
One of the places that people struggle with that is they want to do it, but obviously there are a huge supply chains involved and you can’t sort of come out and say you want to be X, Y, Z, or have this particular sustainability purpose if you can’t actually make it work across the entire piece really. Which is the right thing. It’s the right thing. You’ve got to start somewhere haven’t you?
.Nick Ranger:
Yes, you’ve got to.
Emma Drake:
But yeah, we’re a way away from businesses understanding how to do that, and lots and lots of the build environment are making strides in that sense actually, which is great. But yeah, we’re probably a little way off the entire supply chain where materials come from. We don’t make a lot of stuff in this country. It’s part of the problem. So that’s a challenge.
.Nick Ranger:
It is a challenge, isn’t it?
Emma Drake:
It’s a huge challenge for the construction sector in particular. So yeah, there are challenges across the piece I think with that.
.Nick Ranger:
I think that’s where having a clear sense of your purpose can really help actually, because it can help you to then look for other business partners that you’re going to work with in your supply chain and have that conversation. What do you believe in? What’s important in your business? Do we share the same principles and values, and can we work together? I think we’re going to see a lot more of that. And I think it’s going to be a subject that business leaders will be talking about to each other and using as a means to figure out who to work with. Because we all know that every business has to become more sustainable and every business has to think about its impact on the environment.
.Nick Ranger:
But we can’t do that in isolation. We have to do that by working together with other businesses in our networks and ecosystems, and that’s the only way that we’ll get supply chains working more effectively and being more sustainable as well.
.Nick Ranger:
Again, I think it’s something that is relevant, not just for your own business in isolation, but for the relationships that you build with businesses in your network and ecosystem, and as a real guide for selecting who you’re going to partner with and who you’re going to build relationships with over the long term, and trying to find those companies that they have the same value sets as you do, and think in the same way about what’s important in business and how we want to contribute better to society.
Emma Drake:
So, Nick, this has been fascinating talking to you today, and there’s some great insights of what growing businesses can do. I’ve learned a lot about purpose as well, myself, so it’s been great. Just before we go today, if people listening to this podcast today have been thinking, this is fantastic. I need to understand more about this, but where the hell do I start? What would you say to them?
.Nick Ranger:
Yeah. Well, first of all, try and read the report. If you have the time, you can download it off our website. And that will give you a good starting point for the issues that are important today. And then I think there’s a couple of other easy things that you can do. Talk to other business leaders in your network, or your colleagues about the subjects and how they find out how they think about it. What’s important to them and share ideas and knowledge about the subject, but also talk to your employees or your colleagues as well, particularly younger people, about what’s important to them and where they would like to see the business focus on a subject like this. Because they’ll have opinions, and they’re all extremely motivated about the subject.
.Nick Ranger:
And then finally, I’d say, if you wanted to start thinking about it yourself, there’s a fascinating Japanese model called Ikigai, which is spelled I-K-I-G-A-I. And it’s a Japanese principle for defining your purpose as an individual and finding out what your role in life really is all about. And whilst it was designed to help individuals think about their purpose, all of the questions that it asks are directly relevant to business as well. And as a business leader, if you can make a connection between what you’re passionate about and what your individual purpose in life is and what you’re doing in your business life and your commercial role and what your business is doing, then all more power to you. It’s going to be much more powerful to have that kind of connection.
.Nick Ranger:
And Ikigai asks some really clear and simple questions, but ones which, if you think about them deeply, are quite difficult to answer. So it asks you things like, what are you really passionate about? What do you really love doing? And again, thinking about that from a business perspective as well as a personal perspective can be quite challenging. It asks about your skills and what you’re great at, and it also asks the value that you’re really delivering to your customers or to those around you in society. And the last part is they ask you about what the world really needs from you and what you do as a business. And again, that’s about your impact on society and those around you.
.Nick Ranger:
I often use this tool is when I’m talking to business leaders to try and tease out from them what’s important to them as a business leader. And it is challenging if you think about those questions quite deeply, but somewhere buried in the answers is your purpose, both at an individual level and a business level as well. So thinking about your purpose as a business through that lens and through that model is something that can be really quite powerful and help you to get to the answer.
Emma Drake:
So, Nick, thank you so much for taking the time to come on today and talk about purpose. I’ve really enjoyed our conversation. I’ve got a lot from it as well, so I’m definitely going to check out Ikigai. That’s on my list for sure. And I’m going to put a link to your report in our show notes today. So thanks so much coming, Nick.
.Nick Ranger:
Thank you for having me, Emma. It’s been an absolute pleasure being here. Lovely to talk to you about this subject, and yeah. Do check out Ikigai because it’s fascinating and really does help you to think about what’s important to you as an individual and for your business.
Emma Drake:
Thanks, Nick.
.Nick Ranger:
Take care.
Emma Drake:
So finally, thank you for listening to this episode of Communication Strategy That Works. Don’t forget to check my show notes for those links that I mentioned, and I’d really love it if you would subscribe to my podcast and leave me a review. And also, if you think there’s someone that could benefit from listening to this podcast, please share this within your networks. So I’ll just say bye for now and see you next time.