Matt Peacock: Tech optimism, corporate transparency and the state of journalism

In Episode 4 of Do Not Adjust Your Focus, the podcast from business reputation consultancy Blurred, Stuart talks to Matt Peacock, previously Group Director of Corporate Affairs at Vodafone, leading the company’s corporate social transformation strategy across 30 countries, becoming in the process one of the world's most sought-after experts on corporate transparency and purpose.

Matt is one of business’s leading experts on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles and operations, including a specialist passion for digital human rights. He is also a former BBC News Correspondent, working on its flagship World At One programme. 

Matt and Stuart discussed the role of mobile technology in the world and whether it is a force for good or not, given the current concerns over the impact of social media on democratic process.

But the core focus of the conversation was around corporate transparency and purpose. In the podcast, Matt talks about his worldview on corporate social purpose and how it needs to start with a rigorous risk assessment, grounding it in firm ESG principles. He explains how he and his team inculcated a culture of social purpose across the business, arguing strongly that for any such strategy to be effective it must be grounded in hard business metrics, not a moral argument.

Finally, Matt and Stuart discuss the state of our journalism and politics today and whether, if we care about understanding the world’s biggest problems and dissecting the pertinent issues, we should be worried…

You can listen to the full podcast here and subscribe on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. And below is a handy time-guide for topics and questions covered.

Chapters

• 0:06 Introduction
• 0:46 In the last eight years, we’ve seen mobile go from being a technology, to a sector, to a channel. And now it’s arguably everything. Is its ubiquity a good or a bad thing?
• 3:11 Do you worry at all about the encroachment on private time, uninterrupted thinking, and how mobile has led to an always-on culture?
• 5:23 Are you a tech 'possibilist'?
• 7:08 What are your thoughts on 5G? Is it over-hyped or not?
• 9:33 At Vodafone, you were responsible for it becoming the UK’s most valuable brand, based on its purpose, corporate transparency and sustainability work. How did you go about it?
• 13:53 What were the big challenges to achieving corporate transparency and a purpose-driven mindset across the organisation?
• 16:41 Does the current ‘bandwagonry’ frustrate you?
• 21:00 What’s your prediction for the next phase of purposefulness?
• 27:01 Who can best deliver solutions to a problematic world – governments or corporations?
• 33:30 As an ex journalist, what state do you think the media is in? Do you have a passion for that world still? Is journalism in a good state?
• 36:40 I’m currently compiling my Christmas book wish list. What’s your best book of 2019 that I should add?