Innovation with Purpose: Carol Cone On The World’s Most Successful Purpose-Driven Business Models
An Interview With Russ McLeod
Employees are at the center. From top to bottom, at HQ and in the field, to potential recruits: listen, listen, listen. This is critical to uncover what you stand for that will withstand the test of time.
In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, purpose-driven models are at the forefront of innovation. These businesses are not just focused on profit, but are also committed to making a positive impact on society and the environment. In this interview series, we are speaking with visionary leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators who are pioneering purpose driven businesses. I had the pleasure of interviewing Carol Cone.
Called the “purpose queen” by the BBC, Carol Cone has been authentically linking companies, brands, and social issues for 35+ years. Carol has legitimized purpose as a business-critical strategy, educating and illuminating the journey for thousands of public and private companies, social entrepreneurs, and nonprofits who want to stand for something authentic and powerful. She is internationally recognized for her work shaping social impact initiatives for some of the most iconic companies, brands, and campaigns.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you share a bit about your background and what has led you to your current role?
Thirty-five years ago, I was among the first to venture into the uncharted territory of public-private partnerships for social good.
Growing up in the Civil Rights and Vietnam War era, I was keenly aware of social inequities and war. Every evening, I remember our family watching the gruesome news. At that age, I wasn’t really aware of its impact. That would come later. Once my career launched, my superpower of connection-making led me to create the practice of companies linking with social issues aligned with their values and business focus. My vision: give companies and brands a reason for existing beyond the bottom line.
In 1983, I founded the world’s first social impact agency: Cone Inc. I built Cone into an internationally-recognized agency, which I sold to Omnicom in 1999 to go “global.” I continued to lead the firm until 2010, before joining Edelman to lead its Business + Social Purpose practice until 2015. There I took our purpose capabilities global, working with companies in Asia, Europe, and Latin America. One of my most memorable experiences was giving the keynote purpose address in Agra, India. Of course the next day I visited the Taj Mahal. Amazing. (How did they drag tons of marble from distant quarries hundreds of miles away — all for love!?)
In 2015, I founded Carol Cone ON PURPOSE (CCOP) on the insight that the best purpose talent was gravitating to boutique firms with greater creative freedom, select client representation (e.g. having an authentic reason to find and ignite their purpose), and fast-track professional growth. As a career entrepreneur, I foresaw this as the new agency model. I created a flat, partners-at-the-center, hands-on approach, expanding when necessary to provide additional services through a network I also created, called the Purpose Collaborative.
Throughout my career, I have launched movements that have touched and saved millions of lives. Along with my purpose colleagues, we have executed more than 150 purpose programs, conducted 31 pieces of research, produced five Harvard Business School case studies, mentored nearly a thousand purpose professionals, and raised more than $5 billion for social issues and causes.
As my passion project, I host Purpose 360 Podcast. With more than 180 interviews with industry leaders, innovators, authors, and experts, Purpose 360 is a masterclass in identifying, embedding, and activating purpose. (I believe I was a journalist in another life!)
What inspired you to start or join your business, and what is its core mission?
I’m a third-generation entrepreneur. My grandfather came to this country from Latvia with a few dollars in his pocket, and sold rags on the streets of Atlanta. Over the years, he became the owner of a cotton yarn business, selling to fabric houses across the US. My mother founded the first Off-Broadway playhouse, the Cricket Theatre, on Second Avenue and 10th Street in Manhattan. I grew up a theatre “brat” running up and down the aisles on weekends when mom allowed me to visit.
Starting Cone came from my soul. CCOP is the latest activation of my personal purpose: to educate organizations, brands, not-for-profits, and professionals about the power of purpose.
CCOP is driven by the power of purpose to unlock business growth. We define purpose as an organization’s reason for being, beyond profits alone, grounded in humanity. It answers: What do you stand for? What is your true north? What is your aspirational and inspirational reason for being?
Could you tell us about your journey in the industry and any significant experiences that have shaped your approach to purpose driven business models?
I first saw the power of purpose in 1983. No one else was talking about purpose then and I became a true pioneer, following this path without knowing the road ahead. My intuition told me that businesses could play a more meaningful role in the future — embracing an ethos focused on driving authentic social and environmental action.
I knew that purpose could be a powerful growth accelerator, so I began connecting companies’ core competencies to a higher reason for being. Rockport Shoe Company and Walking, Reebok and Human Rights, Avon and breast cancer, and many others. We approached this as business strategy — not philanthropy.
When an organization understands its true reason for being, it creates a magnet for stakeholder love — from employees and consumers to customers, communities, and more. It also provides clarity of focus, direction, and inspiration for innovation, and ultimately translates to growth and sales.
As Deloitte states, “Purpose-driven companies grow on average three times faster than their competitors, all the while achieving higher employee and customer satisfaction.”
What inspired you to create a business model that prioritizes purpose alongside profit, and how do you ensure this balance in your daily operations?
Growing up during the turbulent Civil Rights movement and Vietnam War era, I have always felt a calling to social justice. It’s at the core of who I am.
As it came time to work, I was captivated by the power of marketing and felt my love for brands begin to grow.
As I previously mentioned, my superpower is connection-making. (What is your superpower? Discover it and use it liberally!) When the Rockport Shoe Company showed up on my doorstep, they wanted to build a company in a different way. It took more than a year of false starts. Finally, I asked the question: What is the essence of these shoes? My intuition kicked in and I linked them to a greater reason for being: improving America’s health through walking.
I codified the walking movement with Rockport as its catalyst. The company grew from a small, $25 million unknown footwear company to a $200 million powerhouse in 4 years. Our work with Rockport created a new footwear category at retail — walking shoes — which grew to more than $1 billion. Rockport renamed itself The Walking Shoe Company and gifted America with a new fitness regimen. That was the first movement we created.
How do you measure the social or environmental impact of your business model, and what challenges have you faced in aligning these metrics with traditional business goals?
When I started in 1983, no one believed in purpose as a powerful business strategy. In ’89 I attended the entrepreneurial program at the Harvard Business School and talked a lot about purpose and business — and even there, no one believed it. A decade into my work, I realized I needed to educate the field and do original research to prove it was a business strategy — and a viable one, at that.
I conducted the world’s first purpose study in 1993: the Cone-Roper Report, which drew insights from 2,000 one-hour long interviews with a diverse set of individuals. The New York Times ran an almost full-page article about this new business strategy. BusinessWeek, Fortune, and NPR soon followed with coverage. I became hooked on research to prove my vision and have since conducted more than 30 pieces of original research, sharing the findings liberally. For almost two decades, I was the sole, go-to subject matter expert on purpose and business, until other consultancies joined in with their own thought leadership.
Today, there are many ways to measure the impact of purpose — from net promoter scores to growth in sales, to our new EPiQ (Employee Purpose iQ) diagnostic tool. It’s critical to measure the impact of social impact to prove to the C–suite that social issues matter and can effectively drive differentiation, audience loyalty, and growth.
The greatest impact for purpose is on employees. It can accelerate their professional potential and personal commitment to an organization. And who doesn’t want the best and brightest talent, with a heartfelt commitment to doing good, as part of their employee population?
Can you share an example of a tough decision where you chose to prioritize purpose over profit, and what was the outcome?
We had to let go of a client. While we love their concept and shop there regularly to this day, we had to fire a well-known, national grocery retailer because of their excessive demands on our people to produce more and more beyond our contract. Terminating a client to protect an organization’s culture, specifically its people, is absolutely critical no matter the size of the fee or the reputation of the company.
That bold action touched so many early Cone colleagues, who will recount to this day how we supported our people and culture beyond the bottom line.
How do you stay innovative while remaining true to your core mission, especially in a rapidly changing market?
I’m insanely curious and seek ideas and knowledge everywhere. To innovate you have to look beyond your field and apply unlikely connections to solve problems.
One of the innovations I am most proud of is My Special Aflac Duck — a social robot we created for Aflac to support kids going through an average of 1,000 days of pediatric cancer treatments.
While it won the Tech for a Better World Award at CES (beating over 250 entries), People’s Choice at SXSW, TIME Magazine Invention of the Year, and two Cannes Lions, most importantly it has been donated to over 30,000 children around the world to provide comfort along their arduous cancer journeys.
What role does community engagement play in your business model, and how have you successfully integrated feedback from those you aim to serve?
Community engagement proves your purpose in action. It’s how your purpose comes to life. Our work has shaped movements that link companies with nonprofits, people, and sometimes even government entities for the greater good. We’ve been fortunate to shape and launch movements in walking, breast and lung cancer prevention, early childhood education, and beyond.
To create a movement, you must listen. Co-creation ensures that your work and purpose are authentic and constantly innovating to respond to the real needs of the cause, your company, and the community.
What are your “5 Things You Need To Create a Successful Purpose Driven Business”?
1 . Purpose is an intimate discovery, combining a company founder’s story with contemporary business needs. It takes time, great research, questioning, listening, and engagement to uncover it. With the Rockport Shoe Company, we identified walking as their “true north.”
We worked with the Kerry Group in 2018, the world’s largest food ingredients company, headquartered in Ireland with distribution across 100+ countries, to discover its organizational purpose. We interviewed over 250 of their leaders, held workshops in 10 countries, and workshopped with their Board of Directors and senior leadership team. We engaged employees of all levels. Their communications leader said our work “was a journey to the center of their soul.” Their Purpose: Inspiring Food. Nourishing Life.
When Kerry’s purpose was introduced at their global sales meeting in Killarney, Ireland, there were tears in people’s eyes. It has become their reason for being to grow their business, enhance their employee culture, and ultimately readjust their approach to business products and services.
For nonprofits, uncovering their purpose is equally critical to their strategic growth. For the American Heart Association, we launched their entire focus on women and heart disease. Before our work, AHA’s focus was on men in “white coats”, with research limited to men’s hearts. Through months of deep exploration, led by their CEO Cass Wheeler, we birthed their focus on women. We created the Go Red for Women campaign, raising more than $1 billion to help women understand and reduce their risk of heart disease and reenergizing the AHA and its 22 million volunteers. (Note: women’s hearts and heart attacks are very different from men’s.)
2 . Employees are at the center. From top to bottom, at HQ and in the field, to potential recruits: listen, listen, listen. This is critical to uncover what you stand for that will withstand the test of time.
3 . Once discovered, introduce the purpose internally and embed it in your organization’s culture before it is taken to external stakeholders. Listen to Purpose 360’s episode, “In Pursuit of Purpose at Kerry Group” for insights on how to launch your purpose so it resonates with employees.
4 . Bringing purpose to life externally happens with aligned partners. Partnerships are critical to authentically activate your purpose. For PNC Grow Up Great, which focuses on early childhood education, we suggested the unique collaboration of the National Head Start Association, Sesame Workshop, and Fred Rogers Company. For guidance and credibility, we created a renowned early childhood education advisory board and made sure that PNC’s senior-level commitment executives had ongoing engagement with the initiative and applied significant resources.
We are proud that PNC Grow Up Great launched in 2004 with a 10-year, $100M commitment (yes, banks have significant resources to commit). It has now grown to a 20-year commitment of $500M, as most of the major launch components continue to perform extraordinarily.
5. Achieve results, then communicate impact. And make long-term commitments. The most successful social impact initiatives begin communications — internally and externally — once they achieve authentic impact. Names of initiatives also need to be declarative and simple, such as the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade, Aflac’s My Special Aflac Duck, and Yoplait’s Save Lids Save Lives.
What piece of advice would you give to entrepreneurs looking to pioneer their own purpose driven businesses?
Do an extensive landscape analysis so that your product, service, and ultimately your purpose are aligned and distinct from competitors. Make sure you have a long-term view. Write a manifesto about what’s inspiring you — so you can inspire others. It’s a great exercise. And absolutely embed purpose into your culture — examine the type of people you hire; revise your values and the behaviors required to live them; review the ingredients in your products for their quality, price, and impact, how they are sold/communicated — and measure your impact across your ecosystem.
And don’t give up. You will have lots of challenges. But the end result is often priceless.
Can you share a story of someone who has inspired you in your journey?
Paul Polman, the former CEO of Unilever. Paul is the GOAT of purpose. While he came from very humble roots, and gained a finance background, his intuition in 2009 set a struggling Unilever on a path to vibrant success. The company’s purpose, Making Sustainable Living Commonplace, became a true compass for key brands, defining a role in society that provided meaning and sparked vigorous growth. From the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty, to Lifebuoy’s Alive by Five, the Vaseline Healing Project, and Hellman’s Cage Free Eggs, Paul Polman and Unilever taught the world about a new type of stakeholder-based capitalism, shaping the way to engage with all audiences in a human and inspiring manner. At the time, those purpose-led, Sustainable Living Brands grew 69% faster than the rest of the business and delivered 75% of the company’s growth. After Paul left Unilever in 2019, his book, Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Give More than They Take, became the Bible of purpose business. I was thrilled to host Paul on my podcast, Purpose 360, and wrote this article about him.
How can our readers further follow your work or your company online?
You can visit our website at carolconeonpurpose.com, follow us on LinkedIn, and tune into the Purpose 360 podcast.
This was great. Thanks for taking time for us to learn more about you and your business. We wish you continued success!
About the Interviewer: Russell McLeod is an experienced business leader, social entrepreneur, and mentor. A champion of profit with purpose, the circular economy and of collaboration for positive progress. Russell is the founder of Mightyhum a Toronto-based impact enterprise dedicated to supporting growing organizations. And, while it’s not a requirement, the Mightyhum team has a passion for collaborating with purpose-driven businesses. Mightyhum specializes in providing consulting services and turning hairy audacious concepts into achievable ventures & projects. The Mightyhum team work with C-suite executives and leaders, developing new product offerings, effective go-to-market strategies, building for profitability, and streamlining operations. Before Mightyhum, Russell was involved in the world of social enterprise as the Executive Director of ME to WE, one of Canada’s best known and most awarded social enterprises. While at ME to WE, the team demonstrated that being profitable and impactful was indeed possible. During his tenure, ME to WE delivered $20M in cash and in-kind to WE Charity, helping transform the lives of over 1 million people through access to clean water; the lives of 200,000 children with access to education; and 30,000 women-led businesses launched globally.
Russell’ personal mission is to inspire others that there is ‘a better way to do business,’ ‘that through business we can solve some of the world’s problems at the same time.’ You can follow Russell’s work at https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-mcleod1/ or www.mightyhum.com.
