PRESENTATION HELD AT THE ECONOMIST "BIG RETHINK" CONFERENCE, LONDON< MARCH 22, 2013 A new generation of employees and consumers are hungry for companies that can demonstrate they are different by making a difference. This is changing the traditional company value proposition: Make meaning, not just money! No longer is it sufficient to be excellent – today’s businesses also need to be significant in order to attract and retain valuable talent and customers. In his presentation, Tim Leberecht looks beyond purpose and social responsibility, and proposes we transcend business-as-usual into an act of “meaning-making” that honors our full selves rather than solely catering to our self-interests. What if companies maintained profit margins while also creating spaces and experiences that put us in touch with the ephemeral, with something that is greater than ourselves? Leberecht argues that we need to bring the humanities back to business if we want to create a more human economy. From architecture to product design to business model innovation, he presents strategies and tactics that promote poetry over data, mystery over clarity, vulnerability over control, love over liking, and meaning over satisfaction.

1. Brands as Meaning Makers
Appreciating What We Can’t Measure
Tim Leberecht / The Economist “Big Rethink”
© NBC News

5. “The problem is not measurement per se. The problem
is the loss of balance between valuing what can be
measured and what cannot, and becoming so
dependent on quantitative measures that they displace
judgment and learning.”
PETER SENGE

10. 1. Exclude
2. Exchange
3. Elevate

11. - 95% of Americans reject the idea that a corporation’s only purpose is to make
money. (BusinessWeek)
- 27% of bosses believe their employees are inspired by their firm. However, in the
same survey only 4% of employees agreed. (Boston Research Group/LRN)
- People regard experts such as academics or even their peers as twice as more
trustworthy than institutional leaders. (Edelman Trust Barometer 2013)
- 75% of consumers say they are likely to switch to brands associated with a
good cause if price and quality are equal. (Trends Report)
- The share of companies with weak ethical cultures climbed to near record
levels of 42% in 2011, up from 35% in 2009. (National Ethics Survey U.S.)
- Employee loyalty is at a seven-year low. (MetLife 2012)
- 1 in 3 employees plans to leave his or her job by the end of the year. (MetLife 2012)
- The average company loses anywhere from 20 to 50% of its employee base every
year. (MetLife 2012)
- 70% of recent graduates in the US reported leaving their first jobs within two years.
(Experience.com, "Life After College")
- 95% of high-achievers around the age of 30 leave companies after 28 months and
regularly watch for potential employers. (Harvard Business Review)
- 2 million professionals leave their corporate jobs because of perceived unfairness,
costing $64 billion annually. (Korn Ferry)

12. Enter
THE BUSINESS ROMANTIC
Makes us see the beauty of the world with “fresh eyes.”
Considers business to be more than a numbers game: a powerful
vehicle for creating richer human experiences that mean more.
Honors our full “un-quantified selves” rather than just catering to
our “quantified selves” and our self-interests.
Carves out spaces for the ephemeral and transcendent
—for experiences that are “greater than ourselves.”
Values what is immeasurable but makes us human:
Small ‘acts of significance’
values such as empathy, generosity, devotion, love, hope.

13. THE MEANING MAKER
Makes us see the beauty of the world with “fresh eyes.”
Considers business to be more than a numbers game: a powerful
vehicle for creating richer human experiences that mean more.
Honors our full “un-quantified selves” rather than just catering to
our “quantified selves” and our self-interests.
Carves out spaces for the ephemeral and transcendent
—for experiences that are “greater than ourselves.”
Appreciates what is immeasurable but makes us human:
values such as empathy, generosity, devotion, love, hope.

14. Traditional Smart Meaningful
Planning Acting Wandering
Converting Connecting Reconnecting
Process Dashboard Principles
Control Monitoring Loss of control
Consistency Diversity Serendipity
Big Idea Big Data Big Intuition
Rapid response Real-time Pre-emptive
Segmenting Behavioral targeting Distributed presence
Message Conversation (Occasional) silence
Visibility Transparency Mystery
Boldness Calculated risk Vulnerability
Benefit Value Values
Attraction Liking Love
Convenience User-friendliness Friction
Efficiency Excellence Significance
Self-interest Quantified Self Un-Quantified Self

15. Re-mystify

20. Great brands have absolutely no plan.

22. “Can my grandmother use it?”

25. Thank you.
@timleberecht
timleberecht.tumblr.com
www.nbbj.com