Championing new ways of doing business

"I think that for a long time, the corporate path has been held up as the ‘successful’ route to take. The Anglo-American model has been seen as ‘good’, and everything else, different models or organisations operating outside of those places, have perhaps been considered quirky or ‘less than’.

"But the reality is that there are a multitude of different ways of approaching organisational success, and a wide range of business models making a huge impact in the sectors and context they’re working within, that we can learn a lot from. 

"On the whole, our students are very receptive to hearing about and engaging with this discussion. They’re ready to be part of something different now, and Loughborough is offering them exciting and innovative challenges that give them the chance to step away from the mainstream. We’ve always sought out examples of working practices from across the world to open students’ eyes to different influences, as my experience with The School of Hope in Guatemala shows."

"I first got involved with the School back in 2013, having heard about them through a friend, and liking the sound of what they were doing.

"Attending school is meant to be free in Guatemala, but many families simply can’t afford the books or uniforms, which means their children aren’t able to go. In addition, children are often expected to work in poorer families and sending them to school is a drop in income. The School of Hope runs a model that funds education, nutrition, medical needs and social support for the children who also often come with complex needs.

"I was ten years into university teaching when I decided to go over. My kids had just left home to go to uni themselves, so I upped sticks, agreed a three-month break with my Head of Group, and headed off to see what I could offer but, more importantly, what I could learn.

"My first job was to help with English teaching, which I have to say isn’t really my forte. Having taught business strategy for years and worked in leadership training in the corporate world before that, I quickly realised my business skills would be better suited to helping with things like grant applications and management training.

"Ten years on, I’m still involved, supporting the School’s team in Guatemala and back here in the UK. I’m now the Chair of Trustees, advising on strategy and planning, and making sure they’re in the strongest position to continue growing and doing the amazing work they do.

"The best part of course has been seeing the impact the School is having year in year out. I’ve had the joy of experiencing hundreds of Guatemalan children benefit from having access to an education they wouldn’t otherwise have had. Many have then gone onto apprenticeships, or university, all with a focus on getting permanent jobs, while others have gone onto set up their own businesses, thanks to a recently added entrepreneurship programme.

"Crucially it’s not just the kids who benefit either, their families’ lives can be transformed. In many cases, these are families where the fathers stand on the side of the road, and if they’re lucky, a lorry picks them up and takes them to a digging job for the day. If no one stops, they don’t have work that day.

"So to see these young people lifting themselves out of poverty, and changing their lives as a result, is hugely meaningful to me given my interest in equitable education and access for all."

"Seeing the way this School is achieving its purpose, and playing my small part in supporting them, has fundamentally shaped the way I teach on our programmes now at Loughborough Business School.

"The School is partly run as a social enterprise, which is one of the models we explore in depth with students as part of our Global Social Entrepreneurship module.

"Loughborough has always given students the opportunity to put their learning into practice in the real world, offering internships overseas as well as in the UK. I hope to get our students over to Guatemala at some point, but for now, we take them to Berlin, a city that’s home to a variety of different business models, many of them very value-driven.

"Crucially, we want our students to be able to critique different enterprises and approaches and understand what a ‘good business’ consists of today.

"What does an organisation that’s not just paying lip service to ‘corporate social responsibility’, but is using some of its profits to do something of societal value, actually look like? How can businesses and the people who work in them align their passion with a world-changing purpose?

"Those are the sorts of businesses we need more of in the world – and I’m confident many of our students will go on to set them up or work in them, thanks to the future-focused education they’re getting with us.

"If I think about my own purpose, I’d say it’s wanting the teaching I do to be useful and applicable to real life, and to help people and organisations move forward in more value-driven ways.

"My big aspiration is that people come out of their time with us feeling they are better citizens, perhaps a little less individualistic, and that they understand they can only operate in the world, if the world is doing well, too.

"I also want us to challenge the idea that the only success to strive for is the big corporate kind. I recently met an alumna of more than 20 years, who's gone through the traditional banking route and climbed the ladder, having had a very successful banking career. She’s now moved across to set up a social enterprise to create secure payment solutions on phones in South Africa and Tanzania. She, for me, is a real example of success."