The benefits of having a clear guiding purpose and running an organisation on sound principles has been well covered by many people before. Understanding your “why” is a compelling concept that is easy to grasp. Intellectually it is easy to recognise the potential benefits of operating within clearly defined core values. Practically, it isn’t as easy though.

After the near-meltdown of global financial systems a few years ago many organisations recognised that they needed to start living by their values. Yet many continued to get fined and sanctioned for corrupt practices after this time.
So, why is it so easy to understand the benefits of living and breathing a strong and principled set of core values, yet so difficult to make it actually happen?

Because it’s much harder than people think. It takes unrelenting, obsessive, persistent leadership over many years and, even then, the minute you stop maintaining it, it decays like weeds reclaiming an unloved garden.

But if you focus on the right things you can create a culture built on values that shapes the way that everyone behaves. In this talk, Bob shares some of the key learning points from his journey.

Well-known for his innovation and leadership, Bob Keiller was appointed Chairman of Scottish Enterprise in January 2016. Previously, he was the CEO of Wood Group, a British multinational oil and gas company with $7 billion (USD) sales, over 40,000 employees, and operations in more than 50 countries.

Bob has a Masters of Engineering from Heriot-Watt University and is a chartered engineer. Awarded Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006 and 2008, he was also named Scottish Businessman of the Year in 2007 and Grampian Industrialist of the Year in 2008. In 2011, Bob was voted “Scottish Male Business Leader of the Year” at the Scottish Leadership awards.

Alongside his non-executive role in Scottish Enterprise, Bob is providing mentoring and support for ambitious business leaders and social enterprises. As a result, he has a busy calendar of public speaking engagements, delivering pitches, presentations and talks and successfully securing many contracts and raising lots of business funding. An open book, he claims to have made nearly every mistake possible, ever adding more to the list, and often shares his learning in this area in the hope of inspiring new business leaders.

Married with three children, Bob currently resides in Aberdeen.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx