The last two years have seen unprecedented disruption which has had a severe and long-lasting impact on people and businesses globally. This has pushed some businesses to reimagine, refocus and reinvent their purpose in the market and while it’s been incredibly hard for both people and businesses, it is not all doom and gloom. We have witnessed some extraordinary disruption in many sectors and have been lucky to see some great innovation in businesses, new ways of working, exploring new markets and internationalisation.
Over the years Grant Thornton in association with BVCA has recognised and celebrated innovation through management teams awards of BVCA member organizations. In 2020, we published a range of case studies looking at real life stories of companies that navigated COVID-19 with new initiatives through our “Adapting with Purpose” programme. This year we are launching “Vision 2022” - Leaders Driving Growth to recognise businesses that demonstrated outstanding achievement and to showcase them at the BVCA national series awards regionally in the UK.
The focus of “Vision 2022”- Leaders Driving Growth programme will be to look at key initiatives, new ways of working, and how business competitiveness, leadership thinking, innovation, growth and importantly progress with ESG will be the forefront of leaders’ vision and strategy in 2022 and beyond. Time after time we have seen successful market leaders have these key focus areas in common. Businesses need to think deeply about what they are trying to achieve, their purpose and their long-term plan. It is important to understand the full extent of a business’ stakeholders while keeping up with the ever-changing dynamics of the market and new opportunities that it presents.
We believe businesses with crystal clear objectives, who stay agile, have a focus on innovation, are resilient, who have their people at the core of their business while having a positive impact on society always fair better among their competition. With increased regulations and external accountability on the agenda, it is important that businesses see that profitable returns and purpose should be achieved alongside each other while having a positive impact on the society and environment in which they operate. Businesses that demonstrate robust and meaningful ESG strategies stand among their competition, attracting top talent and command premium valuations.
Authored by Mo Merali
Head of Transaction Services and Private equity, Grant Thornton
This article was originally published in 2022 as part of the BVCA's Vision Awards, and some of the content may now be out of date. Please contact the BVCA if you have any queries or need further assistance.
