How do I remain true to my business objectives?

Grant Leboff:    Do you think that a purpose is also important because it inspires others? In other words, what I’m saying is, because it’s clear that for you, it’s not just about that speech or not just about that book but there’s something bigger going on, and something bigger you’re trying to achieve, that even if you don’t necessarily articulate that at the moment to that audience, people kind of get it. They kind of get that there’s something more than just collecting your fee and going home and, therefore, it gives you a bit more substance and makes you a bit more attractive to others as well?

Nigel Risner:     It’s everything we do in our business. When you go on our website, when we turn up to a speech, you read out products, you buy our books, if it’s not going to inspire and empower you, we don’t write it. I don’t do after dinner speaking because they don’t want someone to inspire and empower, they want someone to make them laugh. So that’s not what we do, so my purpose is all about my breathing. So if it’s in alignment I’ll do it, and it may be for no money.

So I work with school children, I work with young offenders institutes – which is I’m sure where I met you the first time! – but I do everything to inspire and empower people, and if it fits that criteria, I’ll do it.

So would I work for an organisation that went against every one of my principles for a lot of money? No. For £5m possibly, but in theory, it’s got to follow some part of my purpose. And that’s where lots of businesses go wrong.

Grant Leboff:    Yes.

Nigel Risner:     I’m sure you will have seen them. They get this crazy idea, “Well were just going to do this for a minute”, but its way of where your normally going, its way off purpose, nobody wants to do it, but this client’s told you it will be good for you. So I have a phrase that says ‘Fit, Fee, Flee’. If the Fits right and its part of your purpose and part of your altruistic goal, do it. If the Fee is so obscene, but it’s then going to help you find your purpose, you may want to do it. But if the Fit’s not right, and the Fee’s not right, Flee.

Grant Leboff:    And your point is something else which is something very, very important. That is the purpose inspires you, and the purpose might inspire others but the other thing is that it keeps you on track, because so many business I see, one of the reasons their mar-coms goes wrong – their marketing and communications – is because they’ve lost a sense of who they are.

They knew why they started the business years ago. Interestingly enough, when you sometimes take them back, you then can see where they should be going and they get it back, but they lose their way somewhere along the line because they’ve got bills to pay and staff and overheads and everything else and actually, that’s when it starts going wrong, because you look at the business and say I don’t know what you stand for anyway. And from a communications point of view, if you don’t stand for anything, you can’t attract people to the business or the organisation.

Nigel Risner:     Very occasionally I’ll go off track, but I’ll tell the team, I’m doing this for a reason. If you don’t agree, let me know. I did speak last year to a country I wouldn’t normally speak to, but it was an obscene fee, which then allowed me to do 20 charitable gigs with schools.

Grant Leboff:    And that was the reason.

Nigel Risner:     Yeh.

Grant Leboff:    So you kept your purpose.

Nigel Risner:     Exactly right.

Grant Leboff:    Thank you.

There may be small changes to the spoken word in this transcript in order to facilitate the readability of the written English