From 600+ conversations with the world’s leading thinkers.
Purpose doesn't come to people sitting at the starting blocks and thinking about purpose. You have to live it.
The brand must not only convince prospective customers and draw them to the brand but also be deeply believed in by the employees and other stakeholders of the company. We say that for the brand to work, employees must live the brand promise.
There's no such thing as a formula for a great talk but the best are the ones where a speaker connects deeply with an audience, shows them why their passion matters, and takes the audience on a journey.
The crucial bit came when I was 20 and we got dropped from our record deal, leaving us high and dry. That was when I thought, 'am I going to be someone who only wants to do music when it's all going well? And only when it's served to me on a plate? Or do I want to do this… no matter what…' For me, there was nothing else, I wanted to make music.
Resilience is the responsibility and opportunity of the community. We can either face it and learn from it or we can pretend it's not happening. We have to explicitly face the fact that resilience is the responsibility of all of us, together.
We have to interact with everyone so no one feels left out or ashamed; these negative emotions can kill curiosity and creativity.
Imagine Martin Luther King walked into your foundation. Would he pass muster? He would not get a dime out of most contemporary foundations because he would say, 'honestly? This work will take years, people are going to die, I'm not sure how it will turn out.'
I don't care about legacy – not because I'm not thinking of legacy, but because I'm thinking about how to make the greatest positive difference in the current moment I'm living in, and not obsessing about how I'll be looked back on. You're setting yourself up for misery if you focus too much on legacy honestly, but if you try and make a positive difference in the current moment of your life, you're doing the right thing.
Why would anybody at all invest in an economy where the three leaders said the country was bankrupt?! That's what's killed off confidence and investment in the economy.
On a personal level, the best defense against materialism and greed is to give money away. You need to be charitable, engage in philanthropy.
There is a specific type of person you'll often find in these long-lasting organisations: thoughtful, future-oriented, introspective, and often self-critical. These individuals are focused on making a positive impact in the world and serving the organisation rather than seeking personal gain.
Bill Drayton has pioneered the field of social entrepreneurship, growing a global association of over 3,900 leading social entrepreneurs who work together to create an 'Everyone a Changemaker' world.