The Future of Business: What Are We Creating?

We spend a great deal of time talking about the future of business.

We talk about artificial intelligence, productivity, growth, shareholder returns, sustainability, disruption and the changing expectations of customers and employees.

But perhaps there is a more fundamental question we should be asking.

What are we actually creating?

Not simply what are we selling, or how much are we earning, but what is happening in the lives of people because our organisation exists?

That question has increasingly shaped the way I think about leadership and business.

It began for me with another question.

Why did you want to become a leader?

When I ask leaders this question, the first answers are often about achievement, responsibility, making a difference or having an opportunity to influence things.

But I think there is a deeper question behind it.

Why did you actually want to lead?

Not for the title, the office or the authority.

What did you hope your leadership would create?

Most organisations are very clear about how they measure success. Revenue. Profit. Market share. Return on investment. And these measures matter.

If a business doesn’t make a profit, eventually it doesn’t have a business. It can’t employ people, invest, innovate or contribute very much to anybody.

But profit tells us whether we are succeeding at one important commercial measure. It doesn’t necessarily tell us what we are succeeding at more broadly.

It doesn’t tell us whether people are becoming more capable because of our leadership.

It doesn’t tell us whether customers trust us.

It doesn’t tell us whether suppliers want to work with us.

It doesn’t tell us whether people are proud to belong to our organisation.

And it certainly doesn’t tell us what is happening to people somewhere deep within a supply chain who we may never meet.

So perhaps we need to broaden the question to include; What are we succeeding at? and ultimately,

What are we creating?