Family Business and B Corp
James Perry Chairman, COOK
a business in way financial markets understood it. We were always a B Corp in our hearts. Finding the B Corp movement, and then taking on that as an identity - and co-founding the B Corp movement in the UK - was one of the best things we’ve ever done. It’s enabled us to assert who we are, and who we want to become. We’re passionate about going deeper and learning more about what this bigger idea of the purpose of business is, and what business can contribute to our people, and more widely our communities and our environment. We’ve walked out of the joyless, reductionist, individualist ‘I win / you lose’ Cathedral of Competition for scarce resources and profits. Instead, we’ve joined the growing number of campfires where incredible people and companies look to reinvent business so that it serves everybody, not just shareholders. We’ve learned that not only does it work, but it’s better. It’s the biggest idea in micro- economics in generations. Over the years of growing COOK, our family has benefited from the spirit and ethos that we found in the family business community. We learned that we’re not unusual in
In 1982 my mum and dad started a frozen food business. In 1997 my brother then started his own premium frozen meals business. In 1999 we brought these businesses together, and we persuaded my sister to join us. COOK has been growing as a family business ever since. Unsurprisingly, the business born out of our family reflects our DNA. Without wanting to sound unctuous, that includes being interested in things other than money. We are a business, but we believe that the role of business should be to optimise value for all our stakeholders – yes, our shareholders, but also our people, the communities where we trade, and the planet. We set out to create a ‘purpose maximising’ enterprise, rather than a ‘profit maximising’ enterprise. So, it was a nasty shock when – as we sought to grow the business in the 2000s - we discovered that there was only one idea of what the finance and investment community thought business is for; to maximise profits. We didn’t agree. Back in 2010, we had no language to explain this to them. They thought we were crazy. We had an identity problem. Yes, we are a business. But we are not that kind of business. In 2010 we found the B Corp movement. It was like finding our tribe. But more than that, we found our identity. We were never
the slightest. In fact, it’s very unusual to find a family only
interested in making money. It’s been a joy to find like-minded people, keen to explore and learn together how their businesses can be a deeper and wider well of value for everyone, including (but not restricted to) their families. Financial value, but non-financial value too. It’s a joy that FBUK have lit their campfire and are inviting all families and their businesses to explore this question together.
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