Toolbox founder Kathryn Lennon-Johnson explains how and why the Toolbox Programme came about:
It’s possible that the origins of the Toolbox programmes are as diverse as the programmes themselves. But bear with me.
Anita Roddick, of the Body Shop fame, was a hero of mine in days gone by. Not the Body Shop particularly, although I’m sure I had the White Musk perfume like every other 13-year old girl. But her; I loved what she stood for, I loved her directness.
And in her speeches and her books she used to ask about the modern Quaker philosophy. Specifically,
“I am still looking for the modern equivalent of those Quakers who ran successful businesses, made money because they offered honest products and treated their people decently… This business creed, sadly, seems long forgotten.”
And,
“Look at the Quakers – they were excellent business people that never lied, never stole; they cared for their employees and the community which gave them the wealth. They never took more money out than they put back in.”
Over the years, the societal demand for these types of businesses seems more and more insistent. Customers won’t stand for bad service, and they expect honesty and decency. Social media platforms like Twitter mean that people are sharing their experiences, instantly and extensively.
But business is different to the Quaker model of 150-years ago. Today’s entrepreneurs don’t often build factories with encompassing towns housing thousands of staff.
Technology is different. Finance is different. Logistics is different. Expectations are different.
So, these modern Quaker businesses are having to forge a path for themselves. They have no role models, no business analyst templates.
Until now.
When I sat and pondered the problem, I knew that I didn’t have all these answers. But I had a couple. And I knew other people who had a couple more too. And I knew that they were the kind of people who recognised the importance of Quaker-type philosophies, like collaboration and partnership and long-term benefits.
So I emailed them all in June 2011, and said “I’ve got an idea……”
Kathryn is the MD and owner of marketing and communications consultancy Tangerine Trees, providing full-spectrum change management, social marketing consultancy and behavioural psychology.
She also runs the innovative TTBookclub, an on- and offline business book review network and is the author of the popular book Selling for Entrepreneurs.
