0:00:02 Amanda Stassen: Welcome to Purpose Power Brand, a podcast for leaders and brands transforming business into a force for good. I’m Amanda Stassen, business and brand strategist, social justice advocate, and founder of BZU Innovation Group. I’m speaking with leaders who are proving that not only does purpose drive profit, but the future of our world depends on it. If you want to grow your business, increase your brand loyalty, and not get left behind in the ever changing marketplace, this podcast is for you.

0:00:28 Amanda Stassen: Okay? So listen, today we’re going to be doing things a little different. We’re going to be talking with me, and for the purpose of our conversation today, we’re going to dive a little deeper on what purpose is why the heck it should matter to your business and brand, and maybe a couple of ways to activate it. So before I dive in, I want to start with some foundational ideas just so that we can make sure we’re all on the same page.

0:00:56 Amanda Stassen: So whether you’re a solopreneur, maybe you’re a founder of a startup, or you’re a small business owner, you got a couple of employees, or you’re the CEO of a multinational company, I want to just baseline agree that you have a brand. Your business is a brand in one form or another. Whether you’re doing anything with it or not, whether you believe it or not, you have a brand. But listen, here’s the thing about brands.

0:01:22 Amanda Stassen: There are hundreds of thousands of them out there. There’s millions, actually, if you think globally, with new ones popping up every day, from product and service brands to personal and celebrity brands. In fact, a recent study found that there are so many brands out in the world today that 75% of them could literally disappear overnight, and most people wouldn’t even care. 75%. Three out of four people.

0:01:50 Amanda Stassen: Three out of four people. So if your business is struggling, it’s very possible you might be somewhere in that 75%. Now, here’s why. Today, more than ever, not only are employees choosing to work for organizations that have a clear purpose, people are connecting with and they’re buying from brands that matter. What does that mean? What does they matter mean? It means that they are doing more than just filling a functional need. They’re not just providing a service. It’s not just a cup of coffee. It’s not just this is where I pay my gas bill.

0:02:29 Amanda Stassen: It’s not just the book that I buy. I mean, think about it seriously. What makes people choose one business over another these days? We’re paralyzed by the amount of choice we have, particularly in North America. What would make someone drive past one store to go to yours? Well, I’d say people are choosing based on meaning, connection and aligned values, just to name a few things. They’re choosing brands that know what they stand for, why they matter, and they’re living it out.

0:03:02 Amanda Stassen: I would say that these brands are conscious. They’re conscious of themselves, they’re conscious of the impact they’re making on employees, on customers, communities, society, in the world. And they’re envisioning new ways for how they make money, how they want to use their influence and more. They’re being very intentional. And I’d say they’re challenging the age old myth that doing good doesn’t pay. And guess what?

0:03:29 Amanda Stassen: They’re succeeding. They’re succeeding because there’s a growing and emerging intersection between purpose and profit. Because more and more people are voting with their dollars and there are lots of stats to prove it. Let me just share a few on what the benefits of purpose can be on your business. Let’s start with attracting employees and attracting and retaining talent. And we all know in this market, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to do. We want to get the best talent, we want to retain them, we want them to stay with us.

0:04:05 Amanda Stassen: But listen, according to McKinsey, 70% of employees now demand purposeful work. Purpose driven employees are six times more likely to stay at a company. So you might want to think about that. Let’s flip over to growing your customers, attracting customers, growing your sales. Did you know? 76% of people think businesses should have a legal responsibility to the planet. And people, alongside with maximizing profits, 76% think you should have a legal responsibility.

0:04:39 Amanda Stassen: So a joint study from McKinsey and Nielsen found that products that make ESG related claims. Now, I’m going to talk about claims later, but let’s just go with this idea that these aren’t just claims, they’re actually impact driven. They found that these ESG related claims have achieved disproportionate growth. Not only that, but think about millennials, who have a global annual spending power of $2.5 trillion, probably more than $2.5 trillion now.

0:05:09 Amanda Stassen: 95% of them would switch to a product from a purpose driven brand. That’s from a Novelli study. Or what about attracting investors, which is so important for startups and any business looking to scale and grow? More investors are choosing to take purposeful agendas and ESG into account when making investment decisions. And one reason for that is that purposeful brands. And this is, according to an interbrand study, purposeful brands set on improving our quality of life actually outperform the stock market by 120%.

0:05:44 Amanda Stassen: That’s not chump change, that’s big bucks. And okay, let’s talk about innovation. A Harvard study found, and I quote, companies with a strong sense of purpose are able to transform and innovate better. Executives from companies that treat purpose as a core driver of strategy and decision making reported greater ability to drive successful innovation and transformational change. I could go on, but I figure you get the gist.

0:06:13 Amanda Stassen: Purpose is power, and it’s not separate from profit. As Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock Investments, has said, “profits are in no way inconsistent with purpose. In fact, profits and purpose are inextricably linked”. And let me go further to say this. If you don’t have profits, you’re not going to survive. And if you don’t survive, no one’s going to accomplish your purpose. So you can’t have purpose without profit. And you can’t have profits without purpose. They’re linked.

0:06:42 Amanda Stassen: Okay, so great, we agree. Purpose isn’t just important, it’s actually critical to business success today and for the future. The question now is, what are some ways to actually bring purpose to life in your business and brand? Practically, what can you do? I want to first remind us what purpose actually is, because this is actually really important. Purpose is the reason why you exist. It’s why a brand exists, it’s why your business exists, it’s why you started this whole thing in the first place.

0:07:14 Amanda Stassen: It’s the impact you have on people’s lives and the world they live in. Simply put, it’s the impact you have in the world. And it’s super important when you think about what a brand actually is. Think of brand for the purpose of this conversation as the embodiment of the soul of a business. Now, that’s not a flaky thought. It’s actually what the business believes, it’s what the business thinks, it’s how it acts, it’s what it aspires to do. Those are all human characteristics. A business isn’t real. A business is a legal entity.

0:07:49 Amanda Stassen: A brand is the closest thing you’re going to get to humanizing your business. And where does that come from? People. Without people, there’s no business and certainly no brand. People are what make business. People are at the heart of brands. And so suffice to say, people have been asking the question, why do we exist for just about forever? And if it’s important to people, it dang well better be important to business.

0:08:20 Amanda Stassen: So embedding purpose has to start with asking the question, why do we exist? Why does that matter? And to who, the to who part is so important. In order for a business to matter to people, it absolutely needs to answer this question. The truth is, purpose sits at the core of your brand. It’s the driver behind all these things like vision and mission, goals and strategy. It’s the why we do what we do. And why should anyone care.

0:08:52 Amanda Stassen: It’s the human element. People aren’t going to have a relationship with a business. Like I said, businesses aren’t real. They’re just a legal entity. They’re a corporation, for example. People are going to have relationship with other people. And your brand is a collective of people. That’s what makes a brand. So I’ll have to do a whole segment, a whole other segment on how to find that purpose in another episode.

0:09:18 Amanda Stassen: But today I want to run through a couple of areas for activating your purpose, to help your business matter more and have more impact. Now, while I’m going to talk about these ideas or these areas at a really high level, I’m going to talk about them one at a time. The best thing is, though, to activate them, all of them. All of them together so they work together like building blocks. So keep that in mind as I’m going through them.

0:09:44 Amanda Stassen: All right. One way you can activate purpose is to take a stand for what you believe. Tada. A little simple thing. Take a stand for what you believe. Taking a stand pulls the covers away. It actually starts to humanize your brand and it lets people see what your brand cares about. It gives them an inside view to the inner workings of why they should be in relationship with you. It brings your brand actually, it brings your brand into the conversation that people are having already.

0:10:16 Amanda Stassen: It makes your brand relevant and it creates engagement. And lots of businesses babystep into purpose through this particular area with things like sharing that they gave back to XYZ Charity, or they support some green initiative. But some, some take this further with things like social activism, like think about Ben and Jerry’s, whose CEO takes on, you know he takes a professional and personal stand even on lots of different social issues like racial justice, fair trade, or the environment.

0:10:52 Amanda Stassen: Or you know Patagonia, everybody knows Patagonia. But did you know that their purpose statement is we’re in business to save our home planet? And did you know it actually shows up in pretty much everything they do, including their views on who to vote for in the US election? Not every business or brand is going to be as bold as that sure, sure, it’s polarizing, but does it create a tribe of people who will follow them forever.

0:11:19 Amanda Stassen: Yes, it makes people want to be a part of what they are a part, because it brings people into their consciousness and people want to be a part of that. But listen, here’s the thing about taking a stand, and I just want to caution you, make sure it’s actually what you believe. Make sure it’s actually what you, your people, and most importantly, your customers, the people who love you believe. Don’t just grab hold of something trendy.

0:11:48 Amanda Stassen: Don’t just grab hold of something and start taking a stand for something that’s not part of your core just because it’s a hot topic. And there have been some serious brand activism missteps lately by some very big global brands. I’m not going to name names, but let’s just say that it’s a really big, athletic sports brand and a really big beer brand. And in one step, I’m not kidding, in one step, they alienated their core customers and created an anti movement against their brand.

0:12:21 Amanda Stassen: And why? Because at the end of the day, what they took a stand for was not core to who they are. They picked a random, what felt like a random topic and they dove into it. And then they realized that they started alienating their core customers, the people who love them, and they backed away. You can’t back away if you’re taking a stand. And the reason why they backed away, you can tell, is because it was inauthentic, it wasn’t real, it was just the topic of the day.

0:12:53 Amanda Stassen: This is a big no no. If you’re going to say something, make sure it’s something that’s true to you and true to the people you represent who buy your product and who feel that you embody what they believe. Okay, so if taking a stand is where you’re at on your purpose journey, you’re going to want to have a listen to our episode with ReFeed Farms and Outland denim, two brands that are taking a stand for what they believe in.

0:13:18 Amanda Stassen: All right. Another purpose activation pillar is people, employees. That’s your customers, the broader community where your brand shows up when purpose comes alive internally in your organization, for example, it’s awesome. It’s extremely powerful. It makes what you’re saying on the outside not just believable, but it transforms your employees into your biggest customers and your biggest advocates. You got to ask your question, are my customers buying what I’m selling? Like, do they actually buy what I’m selling? Or do they just check in and clock in nine to five?

0:13:51 Amanda Stassen: You don’t want that. You want employees who believe what you believe. So I’ll give you an example, Chick-fil-A. Now listen, you can love them, you can hate them, but you can’t ignore them. They have stated their purpose so clearly, and I’m just going to quote it. Their purpose, Chick-fil-A’s purpose is “to glorify God by being a faithful steward of all that is entrusted to us and to have a positive influence on all who come into contact with Chick-fil-A.”

0:14:19 Amanda Stassen: Now listen, whether you’re a person of faith or you believe, or you have a religious viewpoint or not, you have got to take notice. When a business, especially a fast food hospitality business that everyone has this convenience frenzy about, doesn’t open up on Sundays to give their employees a day of rest because of what they believe, and they still end up being ranked high on the American Customer Satisfaction Index for fast food chains seven years in a row.

0:14:50 Amanda Stassen: That’s a feat. That’s a feat. They are going against the grain and they are taking a stand for what they believe in and they are doing this for their people and what they believe. And they’re creating a tribe around them for others that believe the same things they believe. So when you’re thinking about activating purpose through people, think about how your purpose can make a difference in the lives of your employees and the broader community.

0:15:13 Amanda Stassen: Because while philanthropy is amazing and most people, when they get into thinking about purpose, that’s their go to. I’m going to give to charity. I’m going to be a philanthropist and that’s great. Listen, all businesses should give generously. I am a huge fan of reciprocity and generosity and it’s important. But I would encourage you when diving into purpose, to think beyond charity. Think about how you can, how your brand can uniquely come to life by bringing what you believe to life for your employees.

0:15:45 Amanda Stassen: Salesforce, another super interesting example. Their purpose is to build bridges, build bridges between companies and customers. If they had left that purpose as a statement on their wall or if it was just in their annual report, listen, we’d all be rolling our eyes. But they didn’t. They turned that lens inward and they became a bridge for their employees by taking on something that was important to their employees. They took on gender pay inequities across the organization.

0:16:14 Amanda Stassen: They did the research and then they did something about it. Now, it’s not going to be perfect, but they started because it’s all about walking the talk. If you’re going to say you’re a bridge builder, don’t forget to build some bridges internally. That’s all I’m saying. Two other brands from our podcast lineup that really bring purpose to life through people are Greyston bakery and local laundry. You definitely want to have a listen to those episodes just to get some more ideas.

0:16:43 Amanda Stassen: Okay. Another way to activate purpose is planet easily. This one’s got to be the one that most businesses are engaged with in some way or another. Listen. From recycling to walk to work days to carbon offset credits. But there are some businesses that are going even further, and they’re looking at the entire life cycle of their products and services to figure out their impact and how to make it better. One example is Lego, one of my personal favorites. Their purpose is, and I have to quote this because I love it so much, is “to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow”. I could just spend an hour talking about that purpose theme. And I love it. I love how it just looks into the future and it speaks to who those builders are. It’s all of us. But I mean, it just gives such a vision and it gives them a why they’re doing what they’re doing. Now if they had just alleged that as an inspiring statement, we’d all go, oh, my gosh, that’s so inspiring. But they didn’t.

0:17:43 Amanda Stassen: Strategically, they’ve invested over $400 million, and it’s probably more now to accelerate their environmental and social responsibility with practical goals. Like, for example, they want all their packaging to be made out of renewable or recyclable materials by 2025. That’s only like, what is that? Like two years from now? And they also want their core Lego products being made from sustainable materials by 2030. That is not a small feat.

0:18:12 Amanda Stassen: That is a massive, think about it, those little plastic Lego blocks, they’re not made out of renewable pieces. But that’s their goal. That’s what they’re aspiring to. And they’re being transparent about it. They are working on it. They’re investing the dollars. Their employees are thinking about it. They got research and development working on it. That’s huge. It’s huge. And considering the world is struggling with the sheer mass of plastics waste, they’re not just paying lip service, they’re putting money behind it. They’re putting real investment in this space. And it’s making their purpose really meaningful.

0:18:47 Amanda Stassen: Their brand, their valuation is growing. Especially given that it wants to inspire the builders of tomorrow, who, let’s face it, these are kids. And kids are really concerned with things like waste. So they’re putting their money where their mouth is. And so I would say to you, if planet is your purpose path, check out if you want more inspiration our episodes with unwasted and green circle salons. These are two brands who are doing great work in the planet space.

0:19:17 Amanda Stassen: The last area I’ll mention on the topic of activating purpose is product. To me, this is kind of the Holy Grail, where the very thing you make and sell is aligned to your purpose. It’s the products, it’s the services - they not only make people’s everyday life better, they also positively contribute to society, to the world. They add good, they net positively add good to society and the world. A great example of this is the brand 7th Generation whose purpose it is “to create a more healthy, sustainable and equitable world for the generations to come”. I just love their name.

0:20:00 Amanda Stassen: Their name is inspired by an ancient Iroquois philosophy that instructs how, and I quote, “in our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations”. Guys, can you imagine if every business, if all of our brands, if all of our organizations actually stopped and thought, what is the impact of this decision, of this product, of this service, of this hiring, of this letting go, of this expansion, what is the impact of it on the next seven generations?

0:20:33 Amanda Stassen: We would all be living very differently, I assure you. I assure you. So this belief guides every product they make and every action they take. And if you don’t know who 7th generation is, look them up. They make home care, they make baby products. But they take this very seriously and they look at all of the decisions they make across the entire organization, from sourcing the ingredients, to packaging, to creating equitable value chains, to being a B Corp. It’s the whole thing.

0:21:06 Amanda Stassen: They look at their products end to end. And I would encourage you, if product is where you’re at, two brands that we’ve had as guests that you’re going to want to listen to are Cheekbone Beauty and Brave Soles. These two brands, they’re using product as their path to purpose and they’re bringing what they believe to life.

Now listen, I’ve mentioned four areas where you can start activating purpose, taking a stand through people, through planet and through product. But there are more. This is just the starting point.