True progress isn’t measured by how much we grow, but by the impact that growth creates.
The other day, while watching my kids at their regular Taekwondo class, I noticed the teachers’ smart white jackets with the class branding. Thinking these might be nice for the kids, I asked where I could buy them. Very politely, they told me only teachers can wear white: white is their colour. It’s taken even more seriously than black belts.
It’s quite a profound concept: the people most worthy of respect are those who lead with humility – substance over show.
Lately, there’s been much debate about whether GDP is a sensible measure of human progress. Eternal growth on a finite planet is impossible. Sooner or later, we’ll have to switch to a different model, but what might that look like?
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are one possible framework; the Human Development Index (HDI) is another. Both are worth exploring, but each would require enormous systemic change – that’s a true paradigm shift at a global level.
For most companies, growth in market share, revenue, or EBITDA is seen as a good thing. But have you ever stopped to ask why your company deserves to grow? At a societal level, what do your products or services really contribute to the greater good? It’s a philosophical question (my undergraduate degree was in Philosophy, so I can do an excellent impression of the 🤔 emoji), but with many global companies showing little concern for human flourishing as long as profits keep flowing, isn’t it time we started holding them, and ourselves, to account?
At Epion, we measure our impact in terms of charitable giving (8% of pre-tax profits) and sustainability. We reduce our carbon emissions per consultant, then offset twice what remains. We also want to do consultancy differently: as we grow, we intend to keep role-modelling what an ethical business can look like.
For example, we won’t work with oil & gas or airlines unless it’s on a sustainability project. We will not use air travel for business, even though that means turning down some international opportunities. These choices are hard, but they reflect our commitment to substance over show. After all, the whole point of having principles is that sometimes they guide you through the difficult decisions.
