Published by Tim Collings
Insights > Better World Leaders
Published October 8, 2020
Listen  65 mins

Proving that profit follows purpose.

Our conversation with Kevin Tan, in Better World Leaders Episode 22.

This conversation is as much a journey, as it is a movement towards a destination. The destination is an entrepreneurial endeavour that provides proof that no matter what the business model, how simple or complex, unique or commoditised, that engraining purpose firmly at the core of our organisation will bring greater outcomes. And since this one is a for profit business – the proof is that profit follows purpose.

This is a fascinating discussion with entrepreneur Kevin Tan, who shares his journey from a promising career in global consulting firm Accenture, on a path of discovering purpose through field work with World Vision, to co-founding a ‘for purpose’ organisation that delivers improved outcomes for both staff and customers in the contract cleaning industry.

Kevin’s perspectives about life, service, purpose and creating meaningful work and for purpose profit are as inspirational and they are informative.

If you are seeking your purpose, and how to apply it in your work, this conversation may well be for you.

Key out-takes from this episode;

  • Kevin found that bringing a sense of devotion and purpose to work has led to much greater staff engagement. Instead of talking about their work experience, staff now talk about their purpose experience.
  • Work should go beyond producing a great service, it can be about having an even greater impact in the world.
  • Living their purpose as a company by showing their customers that they really cared about them led to a huge increase in retention (up to 97%), in an industry that typically has very low retention rates across contracts.
  • When you think about purpose as a concept is such a big idea, but when you break it down to an individual level, it’s really about living the attributes of someone you’d like to hang out with.
  • Key themes of Kevin’s approach to leadership – be generous, be faithful and do what you’ll say you’ll do. Do this, and you’ll attract good business, good contracts and good staff.
  • The collective consciousness of the business community is increasing around the benefits of following purposeful models of operating.
  • If we can get just 6% of small and medium sized businesses to embrace a new way of operating, we’ll see a tipping point in cultural change for the good.
  • You don’t need to be CEO to make the brave calls and follow your moral compass
  • Taking personal responsibility is vital and key to change the way we run our businesses. Everyone can take this personal responsibility for how they lead.

Get in touch with Kevin via any of these points of contact;

Kevin’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-tan-241518b/
Kevin’s business: www.cleanasyougo.com.au

As always, great thanks and appreciation to the team who contributed to bringing Better World Leaders to you;

To Brendan Ward for production of all audio recordings and composition and performance of original music throughout each episode.

To Cooper and the team at RadioHub studios for technical support and creative guidance during the episodes that are recorded face-to-face. You can find out about Radio Hub’s services here – https://www.radiohub.com.au/

To NokNok Studios for website design, hosting and advice. Find out about NokNok’s awesome services here – https://www.facebook.com/NOKNOKstudios/

To Cirasa Design for logo and site graphics – Find our about Cirasa’s inspiring work here

You’ll find audio and video recordings for this episode, as well as links to any specific recommendations or related resources mentioned today in the podcast area of 4ileadership.com/insights

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