Striving to realise purpose and profit in a terrifying world — Is it even achievable in 2026?
For much of modern business history, organisational success has been measured by a singular metric. For fear of just repeating the (by-now abundantly obvious) points made in any of the mountains of blogs, papers and articles already written about the business case for purposeful business, I’ll simply state that without a meaningful purpose grounded in substance, that genuinely and authentically addresses the contemporary global challenges of humanity, and that goes beyond simply producing profit, to quote Paul Polman (former CEO of Unilever), quite simply… you don’t have a business.
But against a backdrop of unarguably the most dire set of polycrises humanity has ever faced – rising geopolitical tensions, the threat of human displacement in the workforce by AI, ever-exacerbating social inequalities, mass migration, water scarcity, soil degradation, biodiversity loss, all of which largely influenced by and deeply interconnected with climate change – it’s not an unfair question to ponder whether purpose is even possible in 2026?
I have to admit. I’ve had my moments of doubt recently. As we enter our third year of BCorp certification and weigh up the prospect of recertifying (an even harder job than first time around with more onerous impact targets and even greater scrutiny), as I watch the daily stream of Trump-induced doom and turmoil, I’ve found myself asking whether we’re wasting our time. There. I’ve said it.
And I’m not the only one. I’m fortunate to sit with some of the most purposeful leaders out there on a regular basis. Clients, candidates, even random leaders I meet at sustainability conferences. They all give me hope and energise me to persevere with our purpose journey. But of late, even some of these inspiring leaders seem less engaged with their purpose. Not giving up on it, but asking the question of whether it’s still possible to deliver it given everything that’s happening right now. Understandable perhaps given the global picture just a few short weeks into the new year? Or could it just be they’ve also been watching a bit too much news like me?
Time to take a breath.
Before we get swallowed up in a purposeless doom-loop, let’s just take a moment to reflect on how we got here…
For as long as we can remember, shareholders and investors asked but one simple question of their C-suite execs… “Can you deliver profit and grow?”
Then, over the last couple of decades, with increased emphasis on ESG, and a transition in corporate language from ‘do more, make more’, instead towards ‘sustainable growth’ (which is in itself a debatable concept but stay with me), the real question corporates have had to answer has evolved to: “Can you deliver profit and grow without losing the trust of your people, your customers, regulators, communities, all whilst supporting action towards a more sustainable planet?”. Tough gig.
You’re not wrong. This is the defining leadership challenge of our time and it’s no longer a philosophical debate. It is a hard commercial reality.
We’ve come a long way and whilst the impacts of years of obsession with growth and consumerism get worse as we struggle to embed solutions, our shared understanding of what needs to change has grown, and the purposeful business movement continues to accelerate. These are intrinsically good things that should inspire hope. It’s easy to forget the incredible progress that’s been made while we’re still in the depths of trying to turn the titanic, and yes, there are dark, dark forces at work to derail this progress, but this is why the business case for purpose and purposeful leadership is more relevant and important than ever.
So, let’s get back to the title. Delivering purpose and profit simultaneously in 2026. Is it even still possible? My answer is yes.
Does it mean we don’t have to make sacrifices? No.
Does it mean it won’t be hard and probably get even harder? No.
Does it mean you won’t return to this question again at some point? Of course not.
But what’s 100% true is this... The moment we abandon hope of delivering our purposeful business objectives is the moment our fate is sealed. Equally the point at which we make the conscious choice to brush off the doubts and commit ourselves again completely to the mission, is the moment we begin to move forward again, towards our purpose. We choose.
It's going to challenging this year. Most likely more challenging than it’s been before in our working lives, but standing together and supporting each other in this global purposeful business community is the only viable solution for creating a brighter future. If you’re a purpose-led leader, you’re not becoming obsolete, far from it. You’re more relevant and needed than ever. I’m excited for you because whilst you might sometimes struggle seeing it, especially in these uncertain times, the future really does belong to leaders who can stand confidently at the intersection of purpose and profit — and deliver both, in equal measure.
Rob McKay - Co-Founder & CEO, Sherrington Associates
(0% AI. 100% RI)
“Only in the darkness, can you see the stars.” MLK.
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