Traditional ways of doing business are not generating growth. Companies that have been reluctant to do something in the past now need to take a risk and change their strategy in 2012.
At Wolff Olins, we published a report called Game Changers, which explores the clear, identifiable actions associated with high-growth companies such as Amazon, Google, Nike and PayPal. They act differently; by examining what it is they do, other companies can learn. Change is daunting, but opportunities for organisations that adopt these new ways of doing business are enormous.
Delivering such change depends on your people - how inspired they are by the cause, how well equipped they are to deliver and how positively acknowledged their contribution is.
Key to attracting and retaining the best people is creating an environment in which everyone feels they are working towards a shared purpose. High-growth companies instinctively pursue a purpose beyond profit. They understand that having a brand with a strong sense of purpose is more attractive - to employees as well as customers. In the report, we identify this characteristic as 'being purposeful'.
You cannot manufacture purpose: it needs to be born out of a leader's vision or an ethos or culture and you have to invite employees to take part in that. Shared purpose pulls employees closer to an organisation: 79% of millennial employees say their company's social/environmental activities make them feel loyal to that company. More than half would accept a lower wage if their work contributed to something 'more important or meaningful' .
Companies doing this successfully include car sharing firm, Zipcar. Every Zipcar, for instance, takes 15 privately owned cars off the road. And IBM reinvented itself around a renewed purpose of creating a 'Smarter Planet', an impressive example of a company finding renewed purpose for its organisation and reconfiguring its business to fit.
So, our advice is to define your purpose beyond profit to stand for something that inspires and motivates people inside and outside of your business.
Another growth behaviour is to be 'boundaryless', to create a structure with no silos inside. Bringing a variety of experiences together to work in partnership will lead to new ways of working that will help business thrive. It will create a stimulating work environment, too.
Google's '20% time' programme, for example, allows its employees to use up to 20% of their working week at Google to pursue special projects. This has been the birthplace of many of Google's most profitable products.
At Wolff Olins, we try to practise what we preach. We have offices in London, New York and Dubai - and our client teams are often composed from all offices. We share an aim to have a positive impact through our work and the businesses we work with.
We also have our own social enterprise - The Honey Club. In our London rooftop garden, we have installed two beehives, producing delicious honey for our in-house restaurant and beyond. A group of us are learning to be beekeepers, alongside young people from local schools through our relationship with the charity, Global Generation.
We are optimistic and believe high-growth companies are showing us how we can navigate more confidently through the current uncertainty.
Sairah Ashman (pictured) is COO of global brand consultancy, Wolff Olins
