A Human Cannon
I went to a talk last week by Dame Vivienne Westwood, she is hell bent on everyone signing up to a renewable energy provider and has come to the conclusion this is our most powerful tool of dissent against the government of the moment.
Personally, as well as that, I think there is a lot more we could and should be doing to make the future lights burn brighter.
She did, however, say one thing that I intend to take to heart;
“Ideas come more completely when you pick up that pencil and just start to write” Dame Vivienne Westwood
I’ll try to put that into practice here;
What started 11 months ago with me discovering the conscious business movement via Meaning Conference & spending a game-changing few days in the Alps at Dream Valley in Jan 2016 has since created an ever growing conglomerate of ideas in my head.
Nearly a year later and further inspired by Meaning 2016, I now feel I have something tangible, stimulating, achievable and pretty awesome to write about..
Our purpose at Bagelman is to propel our people into life with all the human skills required to make a positive contribution to the world.
How do you connect an often young, diverse and sometimes transient team with a lofty purpose? I’ll try to explain here;
We are creating a Foundation through which everyone in Bagelman can feel the impact of their efforts; 1% of company revenue will be set aside for the benefit of the whole team.
I wrote this a couple of weeks ago, I hope it sums it up nicely;
“For two years I have been searching for a union between ambitions and aspirations as well as personal dreams.. Bagelman Foundation is the realisation of these ideas.. We take all the great people who work at Bagelman and connect them with meaningful personal development, adventures in nature, mindfulness and relaxation. By securing 1% of Bagelman revenues we are able to fund a programme of fun and adventure designed to enrich and enhance life as well as develop personal and social skills which, in turn, will help people become the best possible version of themselves. Get outdoors, fill your lungs with oxygen, and your mind with dreams. Anything is possible.”
Me — Bagelman Foundation founder & CEO of Bagelman.
The first trip of the Foundation was the beginning of a 3 year mission to climb 7 summits in the French Alps. In October, Dominic and I set of on a day trip to end day trips — leaving town at 4am and returning by midnight having summited Le Mole, an 1850m mountain from which you can see the mighty Mont Blanc, the 7th of our summits mission. The next trip is May 2017, and another of the Bagelman crew will be joining us.. who knows how the expedition crew will grow over the next 3 years!
We are now in a place where our purpose can drive our decisions. We can use our purpose as a lens through which we can view decisions to ensure that the actions we take are aligned with our overall vision of creating strong, confident people capable of reaching their full potential and having a positive impact on the world around them.
Becoming a Conscious Business, not just a conscious CEO
I was frustrated a few months ago. It felt as though my ideas were just that.. ideas.. It was becoming apparent to me that I was a conscious CEO leading a business that was not as conscious as I wanted it to be. I had to go with it and accept that the changes I wanted to make would take time. They did, but the changes are happening and now I feel proud that the business is becoming more aligned with my personal values.
Decisions which previously would have been difficult to make become easier when there is a strong and clear sense of direction and purpose. Some of these things might seem like no brainers to you, but to a business where doing the quickest, cheapest, least risky has been the norm for so long it takes great tenacity and trust to push through changes, remain commercial, retain competitive advantages and be true to a more demanding purpose and set of values.
During the last 12 months we have (or started to);
Act more sustainably; compostable packaging, we are nearly there. The cost of compostables is in some cases 100% more expensive than standard packaging. There may be be price increases and margin squeezes to help make this possible. But we firmly believe that our customers support us as we do all we can to reduce the environmental impact of the business.
Pay a Living Wage, no mater the age; I believe the government’s introduction of a living wage was politically designed to make people at the top feel better, but in reality by ensuring it only applies to people over 25 it unfairly discriminates for younger working people.. and who are they to say that an hour of labour is worth less if you are 23 years old? It’s well known that young people vote less often (something which has to change!) so the political impact is limited and the people at the top give themselves a pat on the back for introducing a living wage.. misleading and not fair I say! We decided that all staff would receive the living wage as a minimum no matter how old they are.. In a business where over 50% of our team are under 25 that’s a big commitment.
Mentor programme; open to all and indiscriminately positive. We provide regular workshops on mentoring to encourage our people to give it a try, on either side of the table. This is paid time, we value their ability to develop. Through mentoring we hope our people will find themselves and enhance their chances of achieving their ambitions. Mentoring relationships are voluntary, they may last a month or a year, as long as it’s positive to both then it can continue as long as it needs to.
Removing zero hours contracts for all staff; we don’t need them any longer, they are divisive, so we are no longer issuing them which means greater security for everyone who works at Bagelman. Simple.
Reduce landfill; working with Brighton Paper Round to complete an overhaul of our waste management policy, it turned out it was easy to prevent tons of waste hitting landfill every year.
Open Source Bagelman workshops — we are open sourcing our workshops; Empathy, Mentorship, Management, Leadership, Values, Communication, Personal goal setting, Career planning.
Our purpose of enhancing the lives of the people around us is taken to the next level, we will be sharing our engaging and collaborative workshop programme. There is no charge, if you feel there is something there for you which adds to your chances of employment or fulfilment then join in. The workshops will happen weekly in central Brighton. They are open to anyone looking to enhance their human skills, as well as all Bagelman people, to gain some practical management skills, learn about empathy and dignity, hear about how having a strong purpose helps to steer an organisation and galvanise a team. We will also be inviting our friends from the conscious business community to host guest workshops. You can view the timetable & book here for no charge, spaces are limited [link coming soon]
Shout it — don’t hide your views behind a wall of anonymity. Get vocal — it’s time for businesses and business leaders to be less anonymous & stop hiding their political points of view, if you are part of, or lead, a purpose driven business, or any business for that matter, you should be loud and proud, rally people around your values, express them proudly, listen to alternative points of view.. Be willing to change and adapt as well, you never know what new idea is just round the corner that could unlock another layer of purpose and meaning .. Be prepared, you may ruffle a few feathers along the way. I say, just suck it up, you will also make new friends by being honest and open. We all have a responsibility to share our views and encourage debate and importantly encourage young people to engage in politics and the environment to help shape their own future. I think organisations should make it ok to have an opinion then, hopefully, we can turn the tide of political complacency which leaves space for some crazy ideologies.
Bring on 2017
Real momentum has replaced good intention and frustration. I’m reminded that if you really believe in a particular course just be confident, build trust and the people around you will begin to believe. Be the change you want to see and it’s amazing the impact you can have and who will help you achieve a shared vision.
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I’d love to hear from anyone who shares these experiences.
