Beyond business: Why purpose’s moment is still ahead of us

When Beyond Business was published back in 2010, it landed as a serious intervention in the debate about the role of business in society. Written by the former CEO of BP, John Browne, it argued that companies could no longer afford to see profit and responsibility as separate conversations. For Browne, sustainability, integrity and long-term value creation were no longer optional extras, they were becoming the central features of future business success.

I read the book through a particular lens. I worked at Enterprise IG, the global branding agency where BP’s infamous Beyond Petroleum ‘brand promise’ was coined at the turn of the century. That proximity made Browne’s arguments feel less theoretical, more immediate and I wrote about his ideas and challenges quite extensively in my first book, CORE. This was a brand promise not as a cosmetic idea, but as something new and different. It was a rallying call and a bold attempt to re-orient one of the world’s most powerful companies — and potentially an entire industry — around a shared sense of purpose fit for a future that would be better for all. Better for shareholders, better for employees, better for society and better for the planet.

It remains for me a lesson from history. Its failure was not down to a lack of vision, but ultimately, a lack of courage and leadership in the face of short-termist thinking and the self-centred agendas of those who stand in the way of progress and capitalise through business as usual by maintaining the status quo. A status quo incidentally, that often profits from creating problems for people and planet, rather than profiting from solving them.

Fifteen years later, much has changed. Purpose has moved from the margins to the mainstream. It is part of the corporate vernacular and almost every business claims to have a purpose. And yet, much has stayed stubbornly the same. The gap between intent and execution remains just as wide and purpose is still too often treated as brand narrative rather than operational discipline, positioning rather than governance. There is a big difference between having a purpose and being purpose-driven.

Re-reading Beyond Business today is therefore both instructive and uncomfortable. It reminds us how long these questions have been on the table and how slow and uneven our progress has been in answering them. But the lesson it offers us now is not to look back in anger at lost opportunities, but to look forward with resolve.

As we approach a new year and enter the second quarter of the 21st century, it feels like the right moment to lift our gaze. At the very beginning of the first quarter, Browne’s Beyond Petroleum appeared radical, imperfect, ahead of its time and was ultimately, an opportunity missed. Ensuring purpose is properly understood and implemented by today’s leaders will give the next quarter of the century the opportunity to deliver on the promise the first could only glimpse.

For those interested, my original review of Beyond Business can be found on the NG&A website.