A decade ago, Octopus Energy and Bulb were often mentioned in the same sentence.
Both businesses were purpose-driven challengers in a broken energy market. Both promised fairer pricing, cleaner energy and a better experience for customers. Both grew fast and attracted strong customer loyalty – and both won awards.
In 2021, when wholesale energy markets turned volatile, the fortunes of the two businesses diverged. Octopus had invested heavily in proprietary technology and customer focus, building enough resilience to absorb shocks and continue growth. Bulb, operating on thinner margins, broke under economic pressure.
Both organisations cared deeply about impact – but only one had built the capability to sustain it. In the end Bulb was acquired by Octopus itself, with Bulb’s customers taken into the Octopus fold. But as an independent entity, Bulb was finished.
The contrast in the fortunes of the two ventures captures a wider challenge facing organisations across the UK today. That is that purpose is not the problem, but delivery of it in practice is.
Purpose is everywhere – delivery is harder
Across startups, corporates and non-profits, organisations increasingly want to demonstrate their wider purpose and the positive contribution they want to make to society.
Leaders know that long-term value can’t be separated from social and environmental outcomes, while their people, customers and investors are asking new questions about the role businesses should play in the wider world.
In many ways this shift is encouraging, because it signals a growing recognition that organisations should be judged not only by what they produce or the profit they make but also by the positive impact they create.
Purpose and mission statements don’t in themselves generate change of course. Translating their ambition into action requires businesses to operate effectively in conditions that are uncertain and more scrutinised than ever.
The gap between purpose and delivery of it is where many organisations struggle. Not because they lack intent, but because building the capability to sustain their impact is harder than it appears.
Impact gets harder as organisations grow
In the early stages of an organisation’s life, purpose can be both energising and tangible. Teams are small, communication is direct and the read-over from effort to outcome is visible. Decisions can be made fast and culture is easier for them to maintain, because the organisation’s identity and commitment is shared among a small group of people.
As organisations grow, the environment changes. Governance becomes more formal, regulation intensifies and systems multiply. Leadership teams expand and decision-making becomes more distributed.
The qualities that may have helped an organisation succeed in its early years often prove inadequate when scale increases complexity. Leaders who relied on intuition and instinct have to adapt to accountability across bigger teams.
There is no single solution to this transition. Every organisation has to find its own way to balance growth and wider purpose. But they tend to face common challenges.
External shocks expose fragility
Recent years have made the challenge far more visible. Economic volatility, geopolitical instability and rapid technological change have put businesses under more pressure.
Turbulent times have tested the strength of organisations and their purpose. Business models that were predictable have become fragile, while structures designed for stable markets struggle to adapt.
For organisations delivering essential services, these pressures can be acute. Public expectations continue to grow while financial resources stay constrained, creating a situation in which organisations have to do more with less.
Technology – opportunity and uncertainty
Technological change is without doubt reshaping the context in which we operate. Digital platforms, data and automation offer huge potential to increase efficiency and reach, while AI promises to transform entire sectors.
When used well, technology can unlock scale that would once have been impossible, allowing organisations to deliver more efficiently and respond to challenges fast. It can also help them deliver positive change.
But technology has also introduced uncertainty. Digital transformation demands new skills, as well as ethical oversight. AI is raising profound questions about accountability and work. The environmental footprint of digital infrastructure is now central to conversations about responsible growth.
Technology may offer powerful tools for scaling impact. But deploying it responsibly requires capabilities that many are still developing.
Impact scales when capability grows
Organisations that succeed in growing their impact over time tend to share a common approach. Rather than relying on the strength of their mission, they invest in capabilities that can make their impact sustainable.
That means building structures that support impact and investing in people and systems to help translate ambition into delivery.
Impact scales when capability evolves. Mission without sufficient capability can lead to over-reach, while growth without purpose can create unintended conseqeunces. Sustainable impact requires both to develop in parallel.
Credibility is essential
Tougher times are leading to tougher questions being asked. Organisations face greater scrutiny from investors, regulators, employees and consumers. The credibility of impact claims is becoming increasingly important.
Stakeholders welcome success stories – but they also want proof to back them up. They want to be sure that organisations are achieving real and measurable outcomes. They want transparency about what works.
For many organisations, communicating impact clearly and credibly can be hard. Evidence can be scattered across teams and measurement frameworks are complex, meaning that useful insights can remain internal. Overclaiming on impact, or at least the lack of evidence of it, has generated cynicism and a backlash against it.
Without credible evidence, organisations can struggle to build the trust and investment they need to scale their impact.
Why Impact Unlimited exists
We’ve created Impact Unlimited to help organisations close the gap between purpose and delivery. We’re a team with experience across pure-profit and purpose-driven business, as well as in the charity and public sectors.
We believe that organisations wanting to boost their positive impact benefit hugely from being better connected. With shared challenges and agendas across sectors, learning from each other has massive value.
At Impact Unlimited a core goal is to bring together leaders from startups, scale-ups, corporates and non-profits who are committed to creating positive change, providing a platform for the stories, insights and evidence that demonstrate how impact can grow in practice.
By convening conversations, collaborating and strengthening the credibility of impact stories, we aim to help organisations build the capability they need to translate their ambition into results.
In a world where expectations continue to rise, the ability to scale impact responsibly is becoming critical. Purpose may be more widespread, but capability remains uneven.
Impact Unlimited exists to help close that gap, so that organisations committed to positive change have the leadership, connections and credibility they need to grow.
Because we believe that impact should be unlimited.
Photo by Fran Hales.
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