“I am most motivated by a strongly held belief that we can do better. It's staggering to me that so much hard work and so many good intentions can result in a world so lacking.” Author of Mission Lit and the Head of Impact at the period care brand DAME, Richard Johnson shared his wisdoms in this next instalment of the #WhoWhatWhy blog series.
“I am most motivated by a strongly held belief that we can do better. It's staggering to me that so much hard work and so many good intentions can result in a world so lacking.”
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Author of Mission Lit and the Head of Impact at the period care brand DAME, Richard Johnson shared his wisdoms in this next instalment of the #WhoWhatWhy blog series.
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Richard, What is your 'Why’?
I think I am most motivated by a strongly held belief that we can do better. It's staggering to me that so much hard work and so many good intentions can result in a world so lacking. Take your average supermarket for example, you walk in and you stand in a web of compromise, cut-corners and misery. That may sounds dramatic, but how did we end up with no other option than unhappy workers barely making ends meet, low quality food unsustainably made, and farmers squeezed of any livelihood. It's all just very uninspiring and it doesn't feel like progress. I know we can do better, and I want to help us do so.
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Tell us something you find helpful in your working day.
I have a real scatter brain so every day is a battle between me and...me. Focus is a scarce commodity. I need to break up my day, so I try and have at least 3 walks. Walks are great for finding clarity. 4 hours of focused work is so much more powerful of 8 hours of distracted, half-arsed work. I also find it really helpful to get thoughts out of my head, so I constantly scribble notes. I have scraps of paper, envelopes, and notepads with lots of doodles and notes. Most of it is indecipherable, but I find the process helpful, it's like having a conversation; which, incidentally, is something I really miss since the rise of remote working, messy conversations with colleagues.
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Shoutout time! Name a company you think are doing great things.
I really love Wildfarmed, from their farming, to their business model, to their branding, everything is innovative, unique, and exactly what the world needs right now.
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And something you are proud of from the last year?
Launching Mission Lit! They say everyone has a book in them, and others would argue that's where they should stay! But I personally never thought I would write a full book, and it's so surreal now seeing it out in the world. I'll occasionally get messages from people I've never met saying the book helped them make a breakthrough with their business or work, and it's an incredible feeling.
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Reading recommendation?
During the pandemic I started an FT subscription, 80% of it is dry AF and about money, but the other 20% -their commentary and analysis - is like an objective breath of fresh air in a world of stagnant polarising ideological thinking and culture wars. Give it a go.
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Thank you, Rich, for sharing your words with us.
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Rich will be posting monthly thought-piece articles over on the Mission Lit journal, with fresh re-tellings on the key themes in the book through the perspective of contemporary news stories. Be sure to check it out!
