The edge of Europe on the day of leaving

I’m just crossing the body of water that separates out the Outer from the Inner Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland.

Its 7.30 am, on Friday 31 January 2020.  And as we leave the Isle of Harris back towards the rest of Britain, it feels like we’re setting sail on a journey that will last decades before it becomes entirely clear where we might all be headed.

When you’re on a journey of any significance, it’s pretty important to know where you are going and why you are going there; direction and meaning.

I’ve spent the week in the company of an enterprise dedicated to the Isle of Harris and its dwindling population, The Hearach. The distillery I had a hand in building has whisky maturing in the barrels, produces Scotland’s favourite peer-rated gin and has won and been nominated for many industry awards, including for its strong sense of social purpose. And it’s clear its success, like most decent businesses that become strongly-enough-thought-of to be considered brands, is its clear shared direction and meaning.

Any business, all businesses, are on a journey; ‘companies of souls’, give up their waking lives, every week, to pursue a path of hoped for progress of some kind or another. Historically, growth, more contemporaneously, something better for someone; beyond the rationalist hygiene factors of ‘expanding’, ‘being successful’ and ‘making money’.

Isle of Harris Distillers has focused its entire existence from before day 1, on its driving purpose for and on behalf of the island and islanders. And built its entire sense of self around a powerfully engaging idea as, ‘The Social Distillery’.

Transforming what might have been just A.N.Other Scottish distillery into an entirely different way of thinking and behaving on behalf of a place and its people.  

An enterprise with meaning.

The Outer Hebrides is a hard place to live. With decades of declining population to contend with and younger people leaving the island in droves, for good. Those who remain live life with traditional crofting as an important element to many communities on the island, supplemented by work at the Salmon farms and in tourism (a small island, quite hard to reach-Harris is always in short supply for the visitor). Surviving on Harris can be the high point. But everyone wants more than that. They want to thrive.

Businesses with direction and meaning can help employees, customers and all connected parties experience the joy of being part of something they can ‘buy-into’. Allowing them the potential to thrive not just survive. To invest their blood, sweat and tears to grow a concern, and make money because they share the meaning and direction of travel. 

Code sharing a compelling sense of the importance of the work at hand. Co-opting the human resilience and resourcefulness needed when the course is hard and the conditions challenging.

As Britain stands of the deck of a new, ‘Elizabethan era’ of re-exploration of our relationships with the World, its time to remember the basics of good business and brilliant brands… strong direction and clear meaning. All employee hands of deck, alive to the prize ahead. Motivated by the journey ahead, as a like-minded company of travellers, as we leave the familiar shores of Europe and venture out into the brave New World we all hope it might prove.

Mark Taylor

Principal

MR. TAYLOR’S BRAND EMPORIUM

31.1.2020