Jessica Yellin sat down with FedGroup CEO Grant Field to chat about his business and how he brings Purpose to life.
Apart from being full of infectious energy, Grant Field, CEO of FedGroup, has to be one of the most likeable CEOs I have ever met. No airs and graces, generous with his time and insights, and a man who clearly understands that people and planet have to come before profit if we want to have a thriving and sustainable economy.
I was first alerted to the business when I came across an ad for their soon-to-be-launched impact investment offering. I think it’s the most brilliant idea! Everything about it is just so ‘right’ and they deserve to do really well with it. More importantly, it caught my interest as to how they implement Purpose in the rest of the business – hence the interview.
FedGroup’s company values are ‘People First’ and ‘Get Shit Done’ – a refreshing change from the usual trite statements about integrity and team work! Your values are fundamentally what differentiate you from everyone else, so why would you use the same hackneyed phrases that everyone else does?!
What I learnt reaffirmed my theory that it all has to start with the CEO! FedGroup doesn’t have the overt Purpose strategy that I encourage in my consulting, but it is so deeply ingrained in the DNA of the CEO that they are living it without even knowing it.
Of course, the million-dollar question was, is it working for them? Grant wouldn’t disclose numbers but to every probing question he had a response that made me believe that yes, it is.
Grant said:
“There are big structural problems in South Africa especially around the monopolies of the big banks and insurers. We are such a regulated market, but that regulation does nothing to protect the man on the street from getting ripped off by the institutions.”
As a family-run business, they have been able to build the business without having to drive the share price to pacify institutional investors. Instead, they have reinvested into the business to build a technology platform that ‘skriks vir niks’, financial services products that genuinely deliver value for money for customers, and a workforce of super-engaged employees. So, work it out for yourself
Purpose pays!
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