Book Review: Less
Book review: A tailor’s manifesto for mending more than just our clothes
In a world brimming with excess, Patrick Grant’s Less: Stop Buying So Much Rubbish – How Having Fewer, Better Things Can Make Us Happier is a crisply tailored takedown of modern consumerism. Best known as a judge on The Great British Sewing Bee and the man behind the revival of Savile Row stalwart Norton & Sons, Grant has long used his public profile to thread together questions of style, sustainability and social value.
With Less, he cuts through the marketing noise of fast fashion and cheap convenience, arguing instead for a revival of dignity—in clothing, in craft, and in community. At the heart of his argument is a simple but deeply unfashionable truth: that owning fewer, better-made things is not a sacrifice but a route to personal and collective well-being.
I didn’t read Less in the traditional sense—I listened to it on the bus and on wet Auckland walks that reminded me of the rainy Pembrokeshire days when I first met Patrick at BFest, a three-day gathering of the then newly formed UK B Corp community back in 2016. It was there that I first heard him speak with passion about Community Clothing, the social enterprise he had just launched. What stuck with me wasn’t only the clarity of his argument about the need for a better way forward for his industry—it was the pride he clearly had in describing the people, processes and places behind every garment his fledgling business was making.
That sense of pride stayed with me when, on a trip back to my hometown of Burnley—just down the road from local football rivals Blackburn—I visited Community Clothing’s factory there. Cookson & Clegg, established in 1860, had seen better days before being revived under Patrick’s leadership. Touring the floor with Dave O’Kane, the factory’s Technical Development Manager, it was clear that this was more than a business—Patrick had created, or maybe reignited, a real sense of purpose—built on skill, history, and hope.
Community Clothing exemplifies a business with purpose stitched into its very DNA. It harnesses underused UK manufacturing capacity to create affordable, high-quality wardrobe staples—an antidote to fast fashion in every respect. It supports skilled jobs, revitalises local economies, and offers a deeply human counterpoint to the disposable culture that dominates modern retail.
What sets Less apart from the usual decluttering literature is its sheer ambition. This is not just a call to simplify but a call to rebalance. Backed with meticulous research, Grant takes aim at inequality, industrial decline, and the soul-sapping effects of algorithm-driven, faster-and-faster consumption. His voice—by turns exasperated, warm, and gently persuasive—echoes the quiet wisdom that doing less, but better, might just be the most radical act of all.
Less is not a branding exercise; it’s a deeply argued philosophy for living and working better—offering substance in a sector too often distracted by overpaid influencers and synthetic imagery.
The audio edition includes a PDF of a lecture Grant gave at the Royal Geographical Society. It’s well worth a read. In it, he outlines a radical reimagining of the clothing economy—redistributing value to makers, replacing high-volume consumption with local, circular models, and building more fulfilling jobs across the lifecycle of garments. It’s a compelling vision of a sector rebuilt around values, not just value.
The book is not without its seams. At times, its polemical tone flirts with nostalgia, and readers seeking detailed policy design may find the arguments more moral than material. But these are minor quibbles in an otherwise sharply observed and urgently necessary book.
In the end, Less is not just about buying fewer clothes. It’s about building a life and an economy that is more intentional, more inclusive, and more human. For those of us who believe—as I do—that business must do more than turn a profit and sprinkle charity on top, Grant’s message is a well-measured fit with the wider argument for purpose-led enterprise.
In CORE, I tell the story of walking that Blackburn factory floor with Dave, then phoning Patrick and his then-CEO Lucy Clayton that same evening to share an observation: it was pride, I felt, that seemed to drive everything. Patrick agreed. But perhaps—nine years on—it’s something even more elemental that has threaded all the parts of his enterprise together. Perhaps the more powerful unifying idea is, quite simply, less.
The changing climate of leadership: Part 2
Part Two: Leading through the storm: Five traits of successful business leadership in an era of radical change
In Part One, I explored why the climate of business leadership is shifting — and why courage, clarity and a deep commitment to long-term value are no longer optional. In this second part, I want to focus on what that leadership actually looks like. Here are five traits that I believe will define the most effective — and trusted — leaders in the years ahead.”
1. The best leaders don’t have all the answers — but they ask better questions.
Running a business of any size against today’s backdrop of climate, sustainability and social challenges is anything but simple. It’s certainly not business as usual — and hasn’t been for some time. But rather than burying their heads in the sand, smart leaders are leaning into the complexity. They’re recognising the opportunities it presents, embracing new thinking, building diverse ‘teams of teams’ — unified by a common purpose — that challenge outdated business models and unlock exciting new ways forward.
2. Values are your compass. Purpose is your North Star.
Embedding purpose into governance and operations is crucial. The Single Organizing Idea (SOI®) framework I developed helps organisations align ambition with action. When a business knows what it stands for — not just what it sells — decisions become clearer and more consistent, even amid uncertainty.
3. Diversity isn’t just good practice — it’s good leadership.
Leadership in many organisations still lacks true diversity — of background, experience, age and worldview. When the same voices stay around the table for too long, even with the best intentions, blind spots form and innovation stalls. Embracing fresh perspectives and lived experiences leads to better decisions, stronger cultures and renewed trust. It also signals a serious commitment to equity and inclusion — values that research shows matter more than ever to employees, investors and society at large.
4. Courage and care go hand in hand.
Leading with care — for people, communities and the planet — requires courage. It means prioritising long-term impact over short-term gains and making difficult decisions that align with core values.
5. In the age of AI, human leadership matters more than ever.
While AI can optimise processes, it cannot replace human judgment, empathy, and ethical decision-making. Leaders must integrate technology thoughtfully, ensuring it serves the organisation’s purpose and enhances human capabilities.
Join the Conversation
I’ll be sharing more on these themes in a special online session hosted by my friends at PURE during London Climate Action Week. If you’re a business leader, strategist, or change-maker looking to put purpose at the centre of climate action, I hope to see you there.
Let’s reimagine the climate of business leadership — before the forecast gets worse.
Date: Tuesday 24 June
Time: 9:00am BST
Topic: Climate Action: The Role of Business Leadership
Where: Online, hosted by PURE Value 360
[Link to follow]
The changing climate of leadership: Part 1
Part One: The changing climate of leadership: Why courage, clarity and purpose matter more than ever
“Management is doing things right;
leadership is doing the right things.”
— Peter Drucker
Doing the right things has never felt more urgent — or more complex. As we confront a worsening climate crisis, exponential technological change and growing distrust in institutions, the kind of leadership we need isn’t defined by title or charisma. It’s defined by courage, clarity and a deep commitment to long-term value — not just for shareholders, but for society. That kind of leadership can no longer be defined as unusual — it’s now essential.
Around the world, we’re witnessing a rise in short-termism — often fuelled by political polarisation, populist rhetoric and power plays dressed up as strategy. Too many leaders are pursuing near-term advantage at the expense of long-term resilience. The consequences are already evident: Eroded trust, divided societies and a lack of coordinated action on undeniable issues set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that demand global cooperation.
Against this backdrop, business leaders can — and must — step up. According to GlobeScan’s 2025 report, 71% of Americans believe CEOs should speak out about the importance of addressing climate change, and 67% say CEOs should publicly defend diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. This support spans political and generational lines — a clear signal that society increasingly expects business to lead where others are falling short.
There’s a competitive dimension too: The most admired and resilient businesses today are those that are actively engaging — not just through CSR or branding, but through their core purpose. They’re embedding sustainability and social impact into how they govern, operate and grow their businesses — and they’re reaping the rewards in talent attraction, customer loyalty, innovation and long-term performance.
Business leadership today requires more than operational excellence; it demands a steadfast commitment to values that endure beyond election cycles and quarterly earnings. Over the past two decades, I’ve seen that the most successful — the most effective and most admired leaders — are those who align their organisation’s purpose not only with their commercial objectives but also with the needs of the societies they serve and are a critical part of.
In next week’s follow-up, I’ll explore what courageous, purpose-led business leadership actually looks like in practice — from building diverse ‘teams of teams’ to navigating the ethical use of AI. These are the principles I’ll also be unpacking during London Climate Action Week, where I’ll be speaking at a live online session arranged and hosted by my friends at PURE Value 360.
Date: Tuesday 24 June
Time: 9:00am BST
Topic: Climate Action: The Role of Business Leadership
Where: Online, hosted by PURE Value 360
[Link to follow]