what we believe
“It has taken decades and centuries to build up the wider business and economic infrastructure that supports face-to-face working,” points out ‘Macro Strategist’ Luke Templeman, writing in Deutsche Bank’s Konzept magazine. “Those who can work from home… should be taxed in order to smooth the transition process for those who have been suddenly displaced.” What a terrible idea. Perhaps Konzept’s …
I am simultaneously an advocate for corporate transparency and a critic of almost all reporting. Why? The simple answer is reports fail to tell readers anything valuable about how sustainable the business is. They fail at the one key thing they exist to achieve. Next year will mark 25 years since I wrote my first sustainability report—so I’ve worked on …
The inspiration of a strong, organizational purpose only runs as deep as its connection with each individual member of the team. Yet, while “culture eats strategy for breakfast,” too few leaders tend the connection their team members feel between their personal values and their work. Years ago, I was introduced by a prospective client to the founder of his organization. …
What is the dent you want to put in the universe? It’s a great question and one we enjoy throwing out there in our engagements with social ventures. Increasingly we use the same question with mainstream companies, too, as we help them navigate their way to the next economy. It leads to naming a purpose—the reason a business exists, beyond …
During my gap year in 2020, before studying Geography at Cambridge, I spent nine months working as an intern at Junxion Strategy’s London, UK office. Thus began my first foray into the world of work. They even paid me! Here are my biggest revelations about my experience. You are not a replacement for the office coffee machine: I researched …
The multiple social and ecological crises in 2020 so far have fuelled a lot of new interest in impact measurement. More than ever before people want to know how, and whether, their work results in desirable social, ecological, and economic results. I am a Champion for both Demonstrating Value and the Common Approach to Impact Measurement, because each distils dozens …
The Principles for Responsible Banking are one year old. Launched in September 2019 at the UN General Assembly in New York, the Principles are a unique framework for ensuring that signatory banks’ strategy and practice align with the vision society has set out for its future in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement. What makes the …
Fifty years ago, on September 13, 1970, the New York Times published an essay advocating that regardless of a company’s impacts on people, communities, or the planet, shareholders’ interests must come first. Half a century later, we’re reaping the results: racial injustice, deep economic crises, and an existential climate emergency. As the Times itself said on Sunday, “It was the …
Doubling down on business as usual is an understandable reaction in a crisis. Some see it as a noble way to weather the storm. The orchestra playing on the Titanic in the midst of chaos is celebrated, even legendary. We are told that leaders should act this way, even when it’s an irrational or excessively risky strategy, because… that’s what …
