Business with a heart

 

It’s perhaps fitting that I use the month of December to talk about a topic not normally associated with business, one that looks beyond making a profit.
Andrew Thornton is a serial entrepreneur who runs, among other interests, a Budgens supermarket in Belsize Park. Nothing special about that except that this shop is run along some very different principles.
Running counter to our obsession with short-term profits, Andrew’s business attitude centres on building a more sustainable model over the long term – he calls it Heart in Business. Instead of just focusing on the money, the Heart in Business approach encourages business leaders to shift focus from an obsession with profits to one where planet and people come first.
It sounds like the sort of thing that hippies might espouse but Thornton’s Budgens is a walking, talking example. Since putting the programme in place – mystery shopper scores for customer service at the store are up to 100% and sales have grown by 5%. Take a look for yourself.
Andrew’s philosophy so appealed to me that I’m using this nine-step process to see how I can better integrate the culture within the various project teams I work with.
If you’re interested in finding out more then visit http://heartinbusiness.org/
Otherwise watch this space.

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