I love business and love the impact that purpose-led businesses and their leaders can and do have. I also love working with the public sector, from government ministry policy units, government agencies, charities and other not for profits.
I was recently introduced to a wonderful charity, Croydon Vision. As they approach their centenary in 2023, they are focussed on their foundation for the next hundred years. As part of working towards a strategy to deliver upon that vision, they have chosen an anchor, and I love it! :
Heart of a Charity, Mindset of a Business
My “Scale for Impact” model above (see core article: “Leading from Purpose“) has the top half of the “virtuous circle” being all about the “Heart“, with the lower half being about the “Mindset of a Business“, with the discipline, skills, system and structure to maintain a focus on profits both short and long term so as to have a greater and greater impact.
Many private sector businesses are more connected to the Profit part of the circle so I often talk to them about the power of connecting to their “WHY” that is beyond making a profit.
For other organisations, it is often the reverse. They are very connected to the “Heart” side, they are clear on why they do what they do and who they do it for, yet they often have gaps in the “mindset of a business” part. In fact, my favourite question to ask someone from an organisation that does not specifically have a profit motive is “tell me about your business?”, a question that is always provocative to them as they may not think about their organisation as a business.
For Croydon Vision, then, they absolutely have the heart of a charity, their focus now is to have more and more of that mindset of a business, which will then flow into delivering upon their commercial vision and strategy moving forwards.
One thought I gave to them when I was at their recent awayday was to seek to build a partnership with “Businesses with Heart“, those businesses that have done the work in the opposite direction, that already know how to make a profit and have recognised that the future of business is also to focus on their “Heart”, their WHY”, with the three anchors of Purpose, People and Planet being focal themes.
Combining both does indeed create a “virtuous circle”, where the focus on Purpose+People+Planet, when allied to discipline around making a Profit, leads to ever-increasing Impact as the virtuous circle spins.
If you are reading this and are a business leader looking to make an even greater impact, please do pay attention to being a “Business with Heart” and focussing more and more on Purpose+People+Planet.
Oh, and such leaders are the people I love to work with most, I’m always here to listen and, if the fit is right, to support you and your business in making that ever-increasing impact!