Mission: How the Best in Business Break Through

Michael Hayman and Nick Giles should be out on their respective soapboxes in every town in Britain to promote this book. Succinct, cogently argued and with some wonderful and wacky stories to back it up, Mission shows how every successful business should be able to define its core objective in a sentence, believe in it and communicate it to others in order to win through in an intensely competitive business environment in which the customer is not only better informed than ever before but also demands an ethical foundation to business. Who would have thought a clothing company could promote a new jacket with the words, 'Do you really need to buy this?' Although the tone of the book is decidedly upbeat - all successful entrepreneurs are optimists - there is clear recognition that many new start-ups will fail and that failure can be instructive and used to powerful effect.The lessons of the book are universally applicable. Have faith in what you do, communicate that faith to others, act it out and keep on innovating to stay ahead. It should be required reading for all school leavers, FE colleges and students and for their teachers.This is not a how-to business book. It is an inspiring story, the distillation of a wealth of experience, conveyed with verve, humour and flair. The authors maintain that successful campaigns have the punters responding: 'I love it.' Well, I loved this and read it at one sitting. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to everyone, not just wannabe Bransons and Zuckerbergs. Its advice and insight can be applied to many areas of life, not just business.Written by two entrepreneurs who have built a very successful business from the ground up, this book shows us how budding entrepreneurs and existing businesses can succeed in today's changed marketplace and achieve acclaim in the wider world. It's also a warning about how even established and healthy companies can fail and fall out of favour in a rapidly changing world: Blockbuster being a poignant example.It takes us through several high profile examples - inc. Ella's Kitchen, Uber, and Airbnb - and explains why business cannot just be about the pursuit of profit any longer.Yes they state profit matters, but Michael and Nick help us realise making a profit is no more the purpose of business than breathing is the purpose of life: profit is a byproduct of ceaselessly campaigning for a heartfelt mission.To succeed in today's environment, a business must have an all-consuming ethical mission at the heart of everything it does. It must be believed, championed and campaigned for by everyone in the business. If not, time-poor - not to mention cynical, advert-drenched and PR-wary - customers simply won't believe in that business and will take their money, support and attention elsewhere.This is packed with insight, tips, advice and takeaways, more than enough to help the next Zuckerberg be born and succeed but the tip I loved the best is about how nailing your colours to the mast, or burning your boats as Michael and Nick put it, is the most convincing way to persuade and prove to your customers just how committed you are to your your cause.

A bit like Weconomy, the premise is easy to agree with: businesses that have a societal mission are the future, but I didn’t get quite as excited by this book as I’d hoped. Probably better suited to those coming to this topic for the first time. 6/10

MISSION brilliantly lays out the approach for successful 21st century leaders, and not just those in business. It's a playbook of the strategies, personal qualities and approaches of transformed leadership that is required in our digitally connected world and shows how leaders of businesses and organisations today need to adapt from the hierarchical leadership models of the old economy.Brilliantly written and highly engaging, I was hooked from the introduction and read it over a weekend. Very inspiring and highly recommended.

Michael and Nick are leaders in their field. I have been amazed by the campaigns they have led and the impact they have on the companies they support. To have the opportunity to read how they do it and build a campaign mindset myself is a generous act from them. I strongly recommend this book for business and charities, this is the way to gain attention in a world where 'attention' is an asset.