A new vision for Britain

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10 August 2022

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Our latest guest blog by John O'Brien MBE introduces Anthropy - a new forum for business and society.

The last two years have bought with them extraordinary challenges for UK businesses. Today, our livelihoods, communities and families are still grappling with the unexpected and often tragic impacts of Covid. 

This period has made me acutely aware of my responsibility as a business leader. During the pandemic, I saw first-hand the deepened disconnect and disadvantage that many faced. The impact on children’s education and mental welfare of employees have been particularly hard to bear – and the depth of damage throughout society is yet to be understood.

Business leaders are also influencers, and the Covid crisis has identified those who operate in an ethical way and those who do not. There are those who went out of their way to help employees, customers and suppliers stay safe and those who behaved fraudulently in areas such as furlough payments and PPE contracts. 

In this context, I felt morally compelled to contribute to the ‘Build Back Better’ national recovery agenda. Along with a group of individuals working across industries, I considered where my – and our – influence could be most beneficial.

The national issues we perceived have roots long before Covid. Regional economic disparity, the rise of toxic public discourse in politics and media, failures of leadership: all have contributed to an environment of division and distrust. What seemed to be lacking was a pursuit of authentic long-term thinking. Seeing the way communities responded to Covid gave me hope. From volunteering for the NHS to delivering food parcels to elderly neighbours, from charity fundraising to changing opening hours for key workers – in such actions I found reminders that our national spirit still lived. 

With my peers in corporate businesses, non-profits and the public sector, I discussed an idea inspired by this community action – a new forum for business and society. Members of the Institute of Business Ethics will be aware of the World Economic Forum (WEF), with its annual gathering at Davos, and the tremendous work done by the organisation to address problems that go beyond national boundaries. We saw the UK’s need for a similar movement to address issues at national and local levels.

And so, ‘Anthropy’ was born. A space, physical and intellectual, for understanding of issues and opportunities on a national level. For ten months, over 250 organisations, including the IBE, have been involved in drawing up the UK’s largest crowd-sourced agenda. Anthropy will take place at The Eden Project in Cornwall from November 2nd to the 4th.

Anthropy will create an ecosystem of leaders from a range of sectors to share thinking and identify progressive solutions to the challenges facing the UK. Only through the breaking of both egos and silos can we all forge the broadest understanding of the world around us to build a new national narrative. Anthropy’s thinking is based on four critical questions: 

  • What is the quality of life we wish to see in Britain over the next thirty years?
  • What ‘quality of place’ is needed to support our aspirations, urban and rural?
  • What economic qualities are needed to support those goals?
  • Finally, what are the qualities we as a nation wish to express to the world in order to collaborate and make a positive contribution to shared global issues?

If you want to bring your influence and expertise to Anthropy, you will be welcomed by some of the most influential people in the country and will be recognised as someone capable and willing to influence the future of our nation.

I hope you will see Anthropy as worthy of your interest, I would be delighted to welcome you into the movement at www.Anthropy.uk.

Author

John O'Brien MBE
John O'Brien MBE

Founder & Chairman, Anthropy

John O'Brien MBE, based in London, UK, is an advisor to business, non-profits, and government bodies on purpose, its activation, organizational culture, partnerships and performance change globally. He is a senior purpose strategist and EMEA managing partner of Omnicom's ONE HUNDRED agency collective.