Desired progress
Examples of what a company might seek to assess:
What should a company be seeking to assess?
Core to being purpose-led (in the way Blueprint sees it) is both having a positive impact on society and treating people both inside and outside the organisation, with dignity and respect – treating ‘each person as a someone not a something’.
At the centre of the Blueprint Principles is enabling and welcoming public scrutiny of the alignment of purpose and actual performance. An obvious place where many organisations, therefore, start in seeking to assess progress is to seek to measure and report on the positive impact on society that results from their activities, both through the way in which their performance delivers a positive impact by reference to their stated purpose, and also how the business shows up in its relationships (as set out in the quadrants of the Blueprint Principles). Measuring impact and assessing the quality of relationships can be difficult, what is needed therefore is a range of ways of assessing progress, which will include proxy measures and metrics.
In Blueprint’s view, there is a journey which organisations go on to become purpose-led, but it is never a linear process. Whilst not seeing these elements in sequential terms, one way to approach this is to seek to assess progress made in the following areas:
- Mindset – how the assumptions and beliefs about purpose and people that underpin any lasting change to become purpose-led are changing in the organisation. This will include how far that mindset is evidenced by the operational link between the purpose and strategy and how far the governance of the business is enabling the development of a purpose-led approach
- Culture – how the company is creating an environment to enable changes to the way people in the business behave
- How the company ‘shows up’ in the quality of its relationships – across all the quadrants of Blueprint’s principles
- Impact – the positive (or negative) impact that the business has on wider society
MIND-SET – a change in assumptions and beliefs about the purpose of business and about people that is reflected in strategy and governance:
- A purpose beyond profit
- Each person affected by the business is treated as a ‘someone not a something’
- People are assumed to be motivated by more than money, status and power: they are assumed to be meaning-seeking and relational
- The business is seen as a series of relationships
- Is there a shared understanding of what it means for the business to be purpose-led?
- Is there a genuine belief that being purpose-led will benefit the business, as well as having a positive impact on society (i.e. it is not seen as altruism, philanthropy or CSR) and is being purpose-led reflected in core strategy?
- What principles determine priorities and drive decision making in the organisation?
- What assumptions underpin the culture in the organisation?
- Does the Board ‘own’ the purpose and is the governance of the business enabling a purpose-led approach?
CULTURE – creating the environment for a purpose-led culture see: Purpose-led culture
- Fostering conditions where purpose-led behaviours become routine and habitual
- Diversity, inclusion, openness and dialogue
- Internal systems and processes cultivate and reinforce desired behaviours and culture e.g. goal setting, remuneration, recruitment, L&D etc.
- Do leadership/managers lead by example?
- What behaviours are celebrated, valued and rewarded?
- Is there constructive dialogue with employees around behaviour and keeping true to purpose?
- Are people enabled to reach their full potential?
- Are systems and processes enabling or hindering the desired culture?
The way the company SHOWS UP in its relationships across the quadrants in Blueprints Principles
- Emphasis on the quality of relationships
- The company shows up as:
- a responsible & responsive employer
- honest & fair with customers & suppliers
- a good citizen
- a guardian for future generations
- delivers long term sustainable performance and generates a fair return to responsible investors
- Enables and welcomes public scrutiny
- Is there awareness of the ‘fears’ / pain points in each of the key relationships the business has? e.g. with employees, workers, customers, suppliers, communities, investors, future generations?
- How do you know? Are there mechanisms in place for constructive and generative dialogue with each?
- Where are the opportunities for the relationships to be better? And what measures and metrics can help to assess whether activities to strengthen these relationships are working?
IMPACT on wider society
- Clarity on the benefit to society / better world envisaged by the company’s purpose
- Acknowledge and seek to minimise harm
- Innovate into positive impact
- Collaborate with others to contribute to a positive impact
- Is there a clear ‘vision’ of the positive impact on society envisaged by the purpose?
- Has consideration been given to the context in which any impact goals are being set? Are any goals benchmarked against wider socio-environmental goals?
- What proxies can be used to assess this impact?
The means of assessment used and the reporting follows the purpose and the thinking behind it, rather than being simply about better reporting of outcomes. This impacts on the design of any measures and metrics, the sources of evidence and how they are communicated. This includes for example reporting on the choices the company has made and how these choices are consistent with being purpose-led and how they benefit society, the business and the people connected with the business.