I have to confess to having more than a sceptical view of purveyors of business authenticity, value, trust and sincerity. That’s partly in line with my innate curiosity and, I have to say, a suspicion that people are frankly trying a little too hard to be seen through what I might call high-minded virtues rather than good old-fashioned decency, stoicism, creativity, reliability and productivity. That said, I often check myself, particularly when I meet the likes of Paul Spiers.
Paul is founder of the New P&L, which stands for principles and leadership rather than profit and loss of course. As well as running a business based around the values surrounding the business name, Paul delivers a regular podcast, also called the New P&L, where he interviews luminaries who, in his view, have values in line with the New P&L. Paul, as you’ll discover, is a fundamentally passionate guy who’s clearly determined to make the business world a better place through his own and others principles & leadership. In the podcast, we talk about what he thinks about others’ profound views of what’s happened to them in the past year, how much of himself he puts into his work, how diverse he thinks the guest pool for his podcast are and what he feels would be his gift to the world.
But first, I asked Paul what he thinks he’s learnt from this particular business journey.