The future of work is to work for the future

No.134: Mon 27?Feb?2023

Hi, it’s David here.

This week’s inspiring and challenging newsletter is written by Sophie Matthews, a Community Member and Strategist whose purpose was reborn when her children were born.

It reminded me of the early days when the BeenThereDoneThat Community was built on mums who wanted to work between pick up and drop off.

Seven years later, there are so many conversations about the future of work but Sophie’s newsletter makes me think maybe we should also be thinking about working for the future.

As always, we are curious to hear what you think.

David Alberts (Co-Founder and Chief Vision Officer?at BeenThereDoneThat)

Subscribe to the School of Athens on LinkedIn?here

The future of work is to work for the future

Hi, it's?Sophie?here.

It’s lovely to be here.?

I’ve spent my 20 year career at global fashion brands in marketing, finding creative solutions and developing strategies for businesses to lead and evolve. But after having children I had a watershed moment; working in one of the most pollutive industries on the planet (92 million tonnes of fashion waste end up in landfill every year) and having two little ones, my whole outlook changed. I considered that I was probably part of the problem, and rationalised that my professional legacy should align to my personal principles. I wanted to be remembered as someone who drove change, and I couldn’t shake the fundamental thought that I wanted to be on the right side of history.

So I jumped ship and set out to work for a B Corp (to achieve B Corp status a company must show that it prioritises people, communities, and the planet, helping them balance profit with purpose). It was empowering and inspiring to work at a company where everyone had the same infectious energy and truly believed in doing things differently to drive positive change. The business was also thriving, reaching unicorn status (a company that achieves a $1billion dollar valuation), while showing true leadership by open sourcing innovation and encouraging coopetition vs competition.?

Is the concept of competition an outdated construct anyway? If the world runs out of finite resources, there won’t be any brands or businesses to compete. We need innovation and collaboration to find new materials and concoct new thinking.?

Highly engaged and switched-on consumers are demanding more from the brands they consume and are impelling businesses to behave differently. Brands that embrace a sustainable mindset are recognising the benefits of leading with purpose, innovation and creativity, to bring to market game-changing thinking that positions them as leaders; and gives them a valuable slice of market share. If Stella McCartney can pioneer using mushrooms as an alternative to leather, and Pangaia can develop eco-friendly down from wildflowers, biopolymers and aerogel for their covetable clothing - can’t creativity lead the charge and champion change??

The most inspiring brands and businesses lead from the front and do things differently, for the sake of something bigger than themselves. Paul Polman revolutionised Unilever as its CEO and recognised that, in a world of finite resources, running a business sustainably is vital for its long term growth. He co-founded IMAGINE, a global collective of CEOs using business to achieve global change, eradicate poverty and combat inequality, while stemming runaway climate change, across fashion, food and finance. And in September last year, Yvon Chouinard, the founder of outdoor innovator Patagonia, gave away his business, valued at around $3 billion, to help solve the climate crisis. Creative leadership creating revolution for change.

So what if we cooperated instead of competed? What if we used creativity to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems? What if we took the greatest creative brains, combined the with the green innovators, and came up with game-changing solutions that helped drive real change. You can win a Cannes Lion, but imagine if your legacy was being central to creating an idea that changed the world. For good.

So my suggestion is this, a creative hack to solve the world's biggest problems - a global, thought provoking, awe-inspiring project that changes the world. Who’s with me?

As always, we are curious to hear what you think.

Sophie Matthews (Community Member at BeenThereDoneThat)

Supporting Articles

1. Billionaire No More: Patagonia Founder Gives Away the Company

2. ADIDAS X PARLEY

3. Meet the World’s Greenest Football Club

4. 10 Concerning Fast Fashion Waste Statistics

We'd love to hear what you thought about this newsletter! Reply in the comments below or reach out to us! To find out more about BeenThereDoneThat, connect with us on?LinkedIn?or visit our?Website. If you'd like to receive The School of Athens weekly newsletter on every Friday directly to your inbox, subscribe?here. If you'd like to get in touch about working with us or to hear more about what we do, email?[email protected]