Can women lead the charge in reshaping how we define success in business beyond profit?
We need to challenge the status quo and rethink business in a way that benefits everyone, not just shareholders.
That was the message from Professor Sir John Kay’s thought-provoking talk at the RSA. And I believe that as women we are not just participants in the future of business: we should be taking the lead towards business as a force for inclusion, collaboration, and meaningful impact.
This brings me to the role of women in business today. If businesses are to truly move beyond the singular pursuit of profit, it’s time for women to step forward and lead the charge. At Lumin, we’ve always believed that business should be more than just a vehicle for profit, it should be a force for inclusion, collaboration, and meaningful impact.
This is reflected in our articles of association, which set out principles that extend beyond shareholder value. We’re committed to creating a space where women can come together to build businesses that are not just financially successful, but also shaped by diverse perspectives and a shared purpose.
Kay’s concept of obliquity — that the best outcomes often come from pursuing something bigger than the end goal itself — really resonates with the work we’re doing at Lumin. If we want to build businesses that thrive in today’s world, we need to focus on community, creativity, and resilience. It’s about creating a ripple effect that goes beyond profits and touches the lives of those we work with, support, and serve.
Perhaps now, more than ever, it’s time for women to take the lead in redefining business success. We have the opportunity to reshape what success really means in the business world by building businesses that not only grow but do so in a way that benefits the community, fosters collaboration, and leaves a lasting impact. The future of business doesn’t need to be a numbers game. It can be about purpose, resilience, and genuine connection.
If you’re curious about the insights that inspired this article, I highly recommend watching John Kay’s full talk at the RSA, which is available on YouTube. It’s a thought-provoking exploration of how we can all rethink business in a way that benefits everyone, not just shareholders.
Watch the full RSA talk here
#WomenInBusiness #PurposeDriven #RedefiningSuccess #BusinessForGood
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Kay’s insights on the evolving role of business in society really resonated with me, especially in the context of Lumin’s mission. For decades, we’ve been told that success in business is all about profit, specifically shareholder value. But as Kay highlighted, this narrow view has led to businesses that prioritise financial engineering over real innovation and long-term growth. We’ve seen once-thriving companies like ICI and GEC lose their way, showing us just how damaging this focus on short-term financial results can be.
The most successful businesses, Kay argues, aren’t those that relentlessly chase profits but those that are driven by a larger purpose: businesses that innovate, solve problems, and grow sustainably. This isn’t about virtue signalling or ESG reports; it’s about genuinely adding value to society. In fact, Kay points out that many of the most influential business leaders didn’t set out to make billions, they were driven by a desire to change the world.
When ICI funded loss-making research for 20 years and came up with beta blockers, a drug that revolutionised preventative treatment for cardiac problems, the financial success followed all that loss-making because they were focused on something much bigger than money. While Musk is a challenging and divisive figure today, he achieved his status as ‘richest man in the world’ not because he set out to attain that title, but because he set out to revolutionise transportation and accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy. He founded Tesla in 2003 with the goal of creating a more environmentally conscious society and managed to deliver a product offering that set him on the path to such great fortune. He may feel like a difficult example in his present roles of Trump’s aide and free-speech promoter on his X platform, but driving social impact was his original vision.