#NedbankIMC2024: Frank van den Driest - How marketers can drive more humanised growth?
3 Oct 2024
Frank van den Driest, founder of the Institute for Real Growth, says driving humanised growth is a marketing task. “Marketers can lead it, but it starts with yourself and your attitude.”
Frank van den Driest, founder of the Institute for Real Growth (Image supplied)
The #NedbankIMC conference took place on Thursday, 19 September at The Focus Rooms, Johannesburg, where a lineup of international and local experts shared their knowledge with 2,000 delegates who attended virtually and in person.
Bizcommunity chatted to some of the speakers.
“The Institute for Real Growth is a not-for-profit independent platform that helps CMOs and other senior growth leaders drive more humanised growth. And that's exactly what I talked about here at the IMC,” says van den Driest.
In his talk, van den Driest laid out a roadmap to drive humanised growth.
- Grounding
- Reimagining the future
- Focusing on transformative change
- Organising for systemic change
“It starts with knowing yourself - where you come from, what your roots, strengths, DNA, culture, and values are as well as your customers, employees, regulators, and all other stakeholders, their needs what’s important to them, and how those things impact your company.”
“Instead of extrapolating trends from the past and assuming the future will follow a linear trajectory, reimagine it backwards.”
But, he says, it’s not only about laying out that vision; it’s also about articulating your company’s aspirational role in that future—also known as purpose.
However, he warns that he is a little wary of the word "purpose" because it has become somewhat contaminated, so a business needs to be very healthy to be purposeful.
He shared a model of four overlapping circles, where a strong purpose sits at the intersection of these four, even if it skews towards one.
Following this the company needs to hard choices to ensure your focus that will give you an integral value-creation strategy for all stakeholders.
Part of creating value for all stakeholders means understanding that you are part of a bigger system and driving systemic change.
“Interdependence is key—you need me, and I need you for both of us to win. That starts internally by breaking down silos.“In high-performing companies, marketers are more connected with other functions than in underperforming companies,” he says.
Leadership
This is about articulating your purpose and building the skills and experience needed as a seasoned leader to drive change.“But, more than anything, it’s about your attitude—how you operate,” he says.
He gave a number of local examples of leadership.
About Danette Breitenbach
Danette Breitenbach is a marketing & media editor at Bizcommunity.com. Previously she freelanced in the marketing and media sector, including for Bizcommunity. She was editor and publisher of AdVantage, the publication that served the marketing, media and advertising industry in southern Africa. She has worked extensively in print media, mainly B2B. She has a Masters in Financial Journalism from Wits.
