A sense of purpose
What do E. Jerome McCarthy, John Elkington and Larry Fink have in common?
McCarthy first proposed the modern form of the 4 P’s in his 1960 text book, Basic Marketing, A Managerial Approach. Elkington coined the phrase ‘Triple Bottom Line’ or TBL in 1994 which was more commonly known as ‘profit, people and planet.’ Fink is the CEO of Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager with $5.7 trillion under management. In his open letter to CEO’s which appeared in the build-up to the World Economic Forum in Davos last month, he made the following statements:
‘To prosper over time, every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society.’
‘Without a sense of purpose, no company, either public or private, can achieve its full potential. It will ultimately lose the license to operate from key stakeholders.’
If ever there was to be a guiding light for managers, marketers or leaders, this is it.
We can only admire the enduring success of Roger Federer collecting his 20th Grand Slam or Sven Kramer securing his third consecutive Olympic Gold in the 5.000 meters. But the story that caught my attention was that of Chloe Kim who won snowboarding Gold at the age of 17. Kim’s father moved from Korea to the US in 1982 with $800 in his pocket to chase the ‘American Dream’ and a better life for his future family. Returning to Korea 36 years later to watch your daughter win an Olympic Gold is also a form of single minded purpose that will resonate with millions of other families.
In 36 years’ time, what effect will Larry Fink’s challenge to companies, leaders, role models and sports celebrities have had? In the last few days, details have emerged of another bumper pay-out for the English Premier League (EPL) domestic broadcasting rights from 2019-22 where Sky and BT Sport have paid a combined £4.464 billion for 160 football matches. This is £700 million less than the previous cycle but overseas rights are expected to increase the total and exceed the previous revenue. If we are to believe Fink, people should be asking how these incredible amounts are ‘giving back to the community’ or creating more opportunities for those less privileged. It is a shame that the charity work of the EPL and other sporting organisations is not promoted as much as these eye watering numbers.
Some years ago, whilst working with the English Football Association there was a goal to employ 400 full-time local football coaches across England to improve football skills of 5 to 11 year olds. A concept was developed that would cost £2 million per year. Tesco’s supermarket stepped in as a partner for four years and it became known as the Tesco Skills program. Very few people knew that 90% of the partner fee was invested in the program with 10% retained to cover the operational costs. As far as purpose and reinvesting in the grass roots of the game, this was one of the most satisfying initiatives to have created. More than 10 years later, the FA Skills program is still running, now with Lidl supermarket as the main partner.
When prepping for this blog, it was interesting to read that Anheuser-Busch InBev, the brewing giant has already adapted its own version of Elkington’s TBL. Budweiser is now shaping its brand building efforts based on the 3 P’s of ‘purpose, product and passion’ according to Jodi Harris, VP/Marketing Culture and Learning. I wonder if football fans will recognise this new found purpose when Budweiser and the 2018 FIFA World Cup roll into Russia in a few months’ time…..