At the Entrepreneurs' Forum we have the pleasure of working with some of the region's fastest growing and most successful businesses and, regardless of sector, they all have a number of things in common.
There is almost always strong leadership and a clear vision around what they want to achieve, but the key ingredient in their success is a capable and highly motivated workforce, pulling together to drive the business forward, find new customers and make a positive difference.
At our recent entrepreneurs’ conference, Angus Thirlwell, co-founder of Hotel Chocolat, spoke with great passion about how, with co-founder Peter Harris, he has built a brand with a purpose that his staff believe in and will protect at all costs.
By forming the business with very clear principles and sharing these constantly and consistently, Angus has created an environment where his staff not only live and breathe the three ‘brand pillars’, but they remain true to their original mission. Hotel Chocolat is now the UK’s leading premium chocolate company, with revenues in excess of £100m. In truth, being aligned with a common purpose is a more powerful motivator than any drug. It not only gets employees out of bed every morning, but it drives them to go above and beyond in the pursuit of making a positive difference through their work.
One of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s newest corporate partners, Unwritten Creative, works with organisations day in, day out to amplify their brands, often leading to the creation of new company identities that harness and shape the way they operate.
Based in the heart of Newcastle, Unwritten help marketing managers and company directors through a unique approach which identifies the personas of their key customers, what motivates them, how they differ from one another and what triggers them to engage and make a purchase.
If your business wasn’t founded with a distinct purpose, like Hotel Chocolat, this is a simple but highly effective way to work out what’s important and align your brand and communications with your aims; bringing clarity to your team and helping you to make strategic decisions with more focus.
Sometimes business isn’t just about making money, it’s about contributing to something bigger and doing something good. If this is your purpose, then it’s critical your team buy into it completely, which must begin with your recruitment.
When interviewing, it’s easy to distinguish between those who see work as just a ‘job’ and those who see it as an opportunity to make a difference and build a career.
At a recent Entrepreneurs’ Forum round table event on this very subject, Mark McGough, MD of Ithica Films, spoke about how he values attitude over skills and only looks to attract candidates who actively want to work for his company. This is because he believes that people who are enthusiastic about what his company is trying to do will work harder and come across more passionately when they are speaking with clients and potential customers.
In order to get the best out of your team and keep hold of the best people, they need to feel like they are contributing toward something meaningful and that they are valued, otherwise the true meaning of the company may be lost on them and placed firmly at the back of their minds.
The power of purpose is key to building a successful business and is led from the top down; the founder creates the idea and the reasons why they have started the business and it is then up to those individuals to communicate this to their team, to inspire them and get them onside.
In the end, it’s the people that make up the business that are the most important part of its purpose and identity. They will not only be contributing towards this, but will be shaping it and driving it forward; so does your business have a true purpose and do your staff really know what it is?
