Why Business As Usual Must Change in 2018 – Bob Collymore

December usually marks a time of reflection for us at Safaricom.

It’s the month when we typically get to appreciate our customers a little more personally than usual, and when we also think about how to progress our true value to society.

Most importantly, it’s the time of year when we assess our strategic imperatives ahead of the close of the financial year in March.

For a number of reasons this year, I have kept a particularly tight eye on what trends are making companies attractive to investors.

What’s clear is that there is a massive shift in the levers that are driving corporate growth and investor attractiveness.

In the past, many investors would closely examine how profits would influence the success of a company.

This view typically rewarded short-term, revenue-hungry firms, with the best performers being those who had fine-tuned the art of capitalism.

But today, we are faced with a startling new reality.

Our customers, and by extension, our investors, are increasingly getting younger.

In 2018, there will be more young people aged under 30 than there will be aged over 50.

Globally, the median age is already 30 years old, with half of the world’s population being 30 years or younger.

Nine out of every ten of these people will live in an emerging market.

But here’s why these shifts will really matter in 2018.

Increasingly, these younger customers and investors are now actively seeking out leaders and organisations that can openly demonstrate that they are not just about profits.

As a more socially conscious generation, unfettered by the norms that have driven business for several years, they are demanding more responsible business practices and want to interact with businesses that are ultimately more inclusive and sustainable.

They are literally putting their money behind companies who take a more sustainable and long-term view of business.

According to this study from Morgan Stanley, seven out of ten of these investors have made at least one sustainability oriented investment action in the last year.

Consumer-driven initiatives have already created a movement that has inspired over 710 institutions across 76 countries — representing well over US$5.5 trillion in assets under management – to divest from fossil fuels.

These kind of shifts mean that the centuries-old fuel sector will have to imagine a new future for itself if it wants to continue to survive.

The same is happening across a myriad of industries.

Business as usual clearly no longer exists.

The good news?

For many businesses, investing in 2018 will mean that they now have the licence to take a long term view and invest in more sustainable and socially inclusive opportunities.

So how can business leaders prepare for these shifts?

In my view, it will require more than just identifying which one of your initiatives is ripe for a more socially conscious overhaul.

It all comes down to what you want the business to look like in the next 10, 20 or even 100 years.

It’s about finding a Purpose, which can be a strange concept when applied to a business.

Because when you think of the word Purpose, it’s often in relation to personal growth. Where am I now? Where will I be tomorrow? What drives me?

But there is a new conversation that business leaders need to start having, and that is how to create a business-led sense of Purpose.

In many ways, it is very similar to the conversations that individuals have with themselves.

What makes the business unique? What are its views on the world? How can the company drive change so that it can thrive and create more growth – for everyone?

For business leaders, this can mean discovering a skill, namely how to become ambidextrous.

On the one hand, profits are still the clearest indicator of performance.

On the other, there is increasing proof that purposeful businesses are successful businesses.

Merging those two perspectives will become critically important in 2018.

Business as usual will mean finding a purpose, and using it to create more future-proof companies and leaders.

Because business can no longer selfishly pursue profit at the expense of purpose and expect to remain sustainable or relevant in a shifting world.

While profits may have defined the successful business model of the past, a company’s passion and increasingly, its belief in a purpose to transform are the true signifiers of its promise for the future.

Bob Collymore is the Safaricom CEO Article was first published on his LinkedIn page