I was introduced to Mary Portas in 2014 when I moved to New Zealand. A television series called the Queen of Shops where Mary Portas went into small retail establishments and rebuilt their business. The work and retail understanding that was unprecedented.
Mary Portas made her name at Harvey Nichols. In the early Nineties, she took the fading monolithic Knightsbridge department store and transformed it into the throbbing epicentre of the glamorous London shopping experience.
Mary is known for ripping it all down and building it back up. We can learn so much from her and in fact before covid, she had campaigned for the new economy and the triple bottom line with People, Planet and Profit in that order.
“No matter how you slice or dice it, which bit of the company is making what, where etc, no business should be raking in a £6.9 billion profit in just three months right now – and not giving something back to those most in need.”
This is her core essence. Do right by the people and the planet and profit will be sure to follow. That’s the formula, and that is the new economy.
Mary is not alone in her vision. Millions in the workforce are leaving their positions to find a better way of working. In New Zealand, we worry about a dwindling workforce leaving for overseas opportunities while we have yet to replace them with new overseas opportunities.
The US job market fluctuates while the human resource department can hardly keep up with employee retention efforts.
What has changed? Everything. We have had plenty of time to understand how mental health is a priority and shifting to better work environments is everything.
The Kindness Economy explores the new values driving businesses and the fundamental role they must play in our lives. Mary Portas believes in best practices that inspire business leaders as they explore this exciting new value system. Think People, Planet, Profit – in that order.
Why purpose is the key to resilience.
LINKS TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT MARY PORTAS:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0008hwf/episodes/player
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-kindness-economy/id1463034553
Books you need to read:
Work Like a Woman : A Manifesto For Change
Rebuild : How to thrive in the new Kindness Economy
