Let’s set the world alight

The Annual Event last Thursday was not entirely what I had expected, although, in hindsight, I should have realised it wasn’t going to be your average event. I believe that On Purpose has a particular recipe that pervades every aspect of the programme, making it special and unique, and this was highlighted to me throughout the evening. The 3 key elements to the mix are: a supportive environment; inspiration and motivation; and a challenge.

Supportive Environment:

The On Purpose programme is designed to support you in growing and developing and to do this you’re encouraged to share and learn from all those within the programme and the sector — from placement hosts to the other Associates in your cohort. The event became an extension of this environment and it was testimony to the people who attended that an Associate and Fellow were able to share their own personal values and stories with us. Thanks to Tom Ebbutt and Sarah Teacher who spoke about their principles and experiences and how these had shaped both their lives and careers.

Inspiration & Motivation:

Tom and Sarah’s stories were definitely inspirational and left me, and I’m sure others, thinking about our own values. Throughout On Purpose I have been exceptionally lucky to be able to meet and learn from some incredible people, all of whom are engaging, motivating and generous with their time. The Annual Event featured inspiration at its best, with Charles Handy as a key speaker. Charles gave some wonderful examples of leaders in the Social Enterprise field, from the likes of Michael Young to Peter Ryan and there is nothing more motivating than seeing what has been achieved by others. Although this shows that the bar has been set high, Charles left me with a great thought that I’ll keep with me through the On Purpose journey and beyond:

‘The world is complicated now and so big. There are no great ideas any more, or at least, there are no great men to action them. All we can do is to start small fires and hope they come together to light up the sky’

I certainly feel encouraged that by taking responsibility and action at the grassroots, we can work together to create positive, sustainable change.

Challenge:

As is typical of On Purpose, there was bound to be more than one challenge to take away. Firstly, Tom and Sarah shared their stories through a wonderful way of ‘Still Life’ portraiture created by photographer Elizabeth Handy. This is a beautiful photograph of 5 objects chosen to represent your values. I think this is a really powerful way of thinking about your story and so I would urge you to pick your 5 objects that you think represents your own values.

The challenge doesn’t stop there though — Charles went on to talk about the concept of the Sigmoid or ‘S’ curve — which plots the trajectory of your career. Essentially, we should look to start something new before reaching the highest point of success so that you can go onto greater heights.

Fig.1. Annotated S-curve diagram

Have you thought about what point of the curve you are on and what will be your next one? In our lives, we could have as many as 4 curves, so as Charles said, ‘Don’t look back and wonder what could’ve been’.

Thank you to Charles and Elizabeth for both inspiring and challenging us last week — I’ve been thinking of my 5 objects for a good few days now — it’s proving harder than I first thought! Thank you to all that came to the Annual Event and for your contribution to the programme — as an Associate I can tell you how important it is to have such encouraging and motivating support from mentors, placement hosts, coaches, trainers and the On Purpose team. And thank you to Clifford Chance and Just Giving who hosted a fantastic evening. I’ll leave you with one final pearl of wisdom from Charles to help you start that fire…

‘It is amazing what you can do when you get carried away and are passionate about something beyond yourself’