The New P & L - Principles and Leadership in Business

Social entrepreneurship is on the rise, driven by those whose passion and purpose it is to affect real change in society.  The evolution of social entrepreneurship over recent years has also demonstrated that ‘not-for-profit’ doesn’t and shouldn’t mean ‘no profit’; as profitability is vital for the ongoing funding of the purpose that sits at the heart of these important organisations.

This week, The New P&L – Principles & Leadership in Business podcast series speaks to two UK social innovation leaders about their experiences of working with social impact enterprises and helping them to adapt their thinking and commercial models; as well as discussing how social entrepreneurs can ‘keep the faith’ in tough times and what leadership characteristics are needed by these 'entrepreneurs with a purpose' to ensure they play their part in creating a sustainable, inspiring and successful future for this crucial sector of the economy.

As adults, and especially as business people, we often have a tendency to over-complicate our lives: business is notorious for this with its relentless commitment to an ever growing array of acronyms, methodologies and processes – and most of us are guilty of embracing them, often in a vain attempt to ‘big ourselves up’.

However, this pandemic is forcing many of us – some unfortunately through necessity and some via the luxury of the extra time they now have - to seriously re-evaluate what is actually important to us; what we genuinely need in our lives – what adds to it, not takes from it.

This week,  Paul Spiers, host of The New P&L – Principles and Leadership in Business podcast series, discusses how a random conversation with his son inspired him to stop and think about why we seem to consistently try and make the simple more complex.

Data dictates nearly every aspect of our lives, and the ethical issues and opportunities around the collection, curation and management of data are a reoccurring topic of discussion with many guests on The New P&L - Principles & Leadership in Business podcast series.

In May, The New P&L hosted an exclusive virtual Roundtable discussion – sponsored by UK-based ethical data champions, My Life Digital and titled ‘More than the Sum of our Cells’.  We bought together some great minds from the tech industry to discuss how we can ensure that as the source point for the collection of all this data - we as individuals and consumers - do not simply become the sum of our data points in a world run by algorithms as well as what can or should tech companies, regulators and individuals do to protect privacy and ensure the ‘human’ is not lost in the ‘drive for data’. 

Our core values, principles and belief systems based on our upbringing and life experiences determine our outlook on life - our perceptions, ability, performance and ultimately, our success - both personally and professionally.  This week, The New P&L - Principles & Leadership podcast series speaks to one of the world's foremost authorities on human behaviour and personal development, Dr John Demartini. In a fascinating hour-long podcast full of incredible insights, we discuss with Dr Demartini how to live congruently with your highest values, what makes a great leader, 'fantasy versus vision' and what business leaders and owners can do to limit the impact of the pandemic on their companies, as well as the story behind his own inspirational journey to become a global leader in human development. 

Currently, only around 1% of global corporate spend goes to businesses that are majority-owned by women - it's an enormous disparity in the corporate supply chain. WEConnect International aims to break down these barriers and is focused on working with women-owned businesses and corporations across the world to connect both parties in the procurement process. 

This week, The New P&L - Principles & Leadership in Business podcast series speaks to Maggie Berry, OBE - Executive Director, Europe at WEConnect International.  We discuss the initiatives WEConnect International has launched to help women-owned businesses weather the economic challenges surrounding this current crisis, female leadership role models,  and how we can empower the next generation of women business owners to take hold of their own destiny and make their business a success. 

A constant commitment to innovation and challenging the status quo is a key to a business's continued growth and success. However, many innovation models are misunderstood, misused or no longer fit for purpose, leaving product development without a determined focus and businesses drifting as a result. The acute impact of the current pandemic on all economies will further expose some leaders and businesses who have failed to keep investing in and evolving their innovation methodologies.  This week, The New P&L - Principles & Leadership in Business Podcast Series speaks to Silicon Valley-based corporate growth, innovation & organisational change specialist, Mark Zawacki, who, with his team at 650Labs work with some of the world's largest global brands and high-growth start ups. We discuss with Mark his take on the role of 'big tech' in society; the pitfalls in product innovation; how a brand's principles and trustworthiness will be measured after the pandemic; and what business leaders need to do to ensure they have the skill set and characteristics required to enable their businesses to thrive in this next challenging decade. 

The commitment to developing global standards for the ethical development and implementation of technological innovation is critical to building trust - not just in the technology companies themselves, but also business more generally and the political institutions that serve us as citizens. This week The New P&L - Principles & Leadership in Business Podcast Series speaks to Hilary Sutcliffe, director of SocietyInside - an organisation that works with businesses and governments around the world, helping them to design and roll out more principled, ethical and citizen-centric models of innovation. 

PART ONE (of two episodes): Philippe’s stellar 30-year career in the technology and venture capital industries includes tenures as Director of Apple’s Worldwide Internet Commerce Group, where he launched Apple’s online store; as well as Head of global media giant, Matra Hachette Multimedia’s electronic publishing division.  In his time as a venture capitalist, Philippe has served on the board of directors of over 20 companies, including the ACG (Association for Corporate Growth) in Silicon Valley. He currently heads up Blue Dots Partners, an advisory firm he founded,  which is dedicated to helping businesses grow faster.

Over two 'The New P&L' podcast episodes, Philippe discusses his recent best selling book, Aligning the Dots - a New Paradigm to Grow Any Business, as well as his views on the current state of both the technology and venture capital markets, and how more principled leadership and focus on the right type of technological development, capital investment and sustainable growth can help transform business and society.

Social impact enterprise, Pass It On Clothing & Co, brings both quality clothing and the 'Dignity of Choice' to the homeless communities of Sydney, Australia. This week The New P&L - Principles & Leadership in Business speak to Pass It On Clothing & Co's founder, Chris Vagg, about the inspiration that led to the establishing of the enterprise; why it is critical we all play our part in bringing dignity, hope and self-worth back to those who are homeless, as well as what the homeless community can teach the business world in terms of resilience, courage and leadership, especially as we all face our own huge, sustained period of adversity.