The CEO of ABN Amro CIB was looking for support in creating a new vision and ambition for the business.

According to Gartner, purpose-led brands have seen their valuation surge by 175% over 12 years. According to Gallup, 70% of business leaders see being Purpose-driven as critical to business success. 

The CEO had an idea of what he was looking for but didn’t know how to articulate it, make it come alive, and, most importantly, inspire and engage employees.

We spent many hours discussing his passions and purpose, where he could make a difference. He had a clear vision for the future of banking, a clear vision for sustainability, and a clear vision of where the business was uniquely positioned.

The narrative was created in three formats: 3, 30 and 300.

• A short, one-line version that articulated the new purpose in as few words as possible.

• A half-page version

• And the complete edition, what we sometimes call the Bible. The document you refer to understand better how, for example, how the team manages conflict, the new tone of voice, core client sectors, and future M&A strategy might be.

• This was used to create employee workshops, communications and engagement.

The story was launched at a leadership day that Ben Wickham hosted. We talked to different CEOs and leaders across ABN Amro about what the story meant for them. This also allowed for further iterations. A story is always ongoing; there is always another paragraph to add.

The story of CIB provides the backbone for the business moving forward, for how teams worked together and continue to impact not only employees but also clients and the world we live in.

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