A Practical Guide to Purpose-Driven Business

Neil Gaught’s CORE: The Playbook is a pragmatic and insightful guide to embedding purpose at the heart of business strategy. Building on his work around the Single Organising Idea (SOI®), Gaught sets out a structured framework for organisations to clarify their purpose and align their operations accordingly. In doing so, he offers a roadmap for businesses seeking to integrate long-term sustainability with commercial success.

The book arrives at a time when traditional profit-maximisation models are increasingly under scrutiny. As environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations gain prominence, CORE: The Playbook provides a clear and actionable methodology for companies looking to balance shareholder returns with broader stakeholder interests. Rather than treating purpose as a nebulous concept, Gaught translates it into tangible steps that business leaders can implement to drive meaningful change.

One of the book’s key strengths is its practicality. While discussions around purpose and sustainability often remain abstract, Gaught’s structured approach breaks them down into concrete actions. By guiding organisations through the process of defining their SOI®, he offers a means to move from theory to execution, ensuring purpose is not just an aspiration but a driver of strategy and operations.
Gaught also underscores the role of leadership in embedding purpose within an organisation. Shifting from a profit-first mindset to one that integrates purpose can be challenging, and CORE: The Playbook provides leaders with the necessary tools to navigate this transition. With real-world examples and practical insights, the book makes a persuasive case for why businesses that align purpose with strategy are more likely to achieve sustained success.

Ultimately, CORE: The Playbook is more than just a business strategy manual; it is a compelling call to action for organisations that want to create lasting value. For those seeking to move beyond superficial commitments to purpose and embed it deeply within their strategy, Gaught’s work provides both the inspiration and the blueprint to do so.