In 1970, economist Milton Friedman wrote an article in The New York Times that has profoundly influenced the thinking of leaders and companies around the world, to this day.

He believed that the sole purpose of a corporation was to maximize profits for shareholders, rejecting the idea that corporations have any responsibility for providing employment, eliminating discrimination, preventing pollution, and any other words that might be the watchwords of the current status of transformers.

Unfortunately, however, only a minority of business leaders understood that, to be successful in the future, their businesses needed to be more human. Most companies have wholeheartedly embraced shareholder primacy. This became the archenemy of purposeful business and reigned supreme for decades. Fortunately, a seismic shift is finally happening.

As a family and a brand, I never agreed with this idea and only focus on shareholders. This is NOT how a purpose-driven company should be run, and I have always believed that companies can (and should) be a force for good in the world.

I never agreed or believed in the purpose or objective of just making money and taking the profit into my personal life. My purpose in life is to undertake and innovate with the Living Tours Group and as such the profit is to be reinvested here, as always since its foundation 20 years ago, and this is the legacy that I hope to build and leave so that it can last with the same purpose for generations. This is the legacy, as people and as a group, that we can leave for society and the planet, with our time here, leaving a testimony that can be continued.

I believe in the Principle of Conscious Capitalism, as I have already conveyed several times: it encourages companies to consider the impact of their decisions on all interested parties “the stakeholders” - employees, society and communities, the planet, suppliers and shareholders”.

By doing this, companies can create long-term value for all stakeholders, rather than just short-term gains for shareholders.

This was the theme of our recent Living Tours Group Leadership brainstorming, which took place at Quinta do Fojo in V.N. Gaia.

Click on the image or link to watch the video https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EicK4B30ThQ .

We must therefore inspire change and scale actions to create a better future of work for humanity.

Our goal as an entrepreneurial and innovative company must be to lead this trend, encourage collaboration and innovation, establish benchmarks, facilitate learning and drive bold actions, guided by our 100% Human at Work values.

Cultural change needs to come from the top, to ensure that people are at the center of all decisions made by the executive board.

For people to be at the center of everything, it is necessary to listen to them regularly about ideas for the business, involving them body and soul to make it happen with desire, commitment and total dedication.

A collaborator who gave an idea, and if he says it automatically forgets it, that collaborator will never want to contribute any idea again, we have to listen, listen without an impulsive response as I have seen.

As strange as it may seem, ideas remain in the air and can be honed, improved, adjusted or remain in the air and then fall, but it is up to us as leaders to listen above all to our people, this is what will connect them with the work, with the manager with the leadership and feel that they are helping to create something bigger, something with impact and that their work makes a difference.

Our People are our greatest asset as a company, this is consolidated, this philosophy is consolidated in our executive board.

A human-first approach to business is becoming increasingly encouraged at management and leadership levels, but effective change must come from the top. Committed to putting people at the center of our business and understanding the positive effect this has on our entire company.

Purposeful Decision Making: Not only does it ensure we prioritize all stakeholders, but we also embed our key “Pillars of Purpose” at the heart of every business decision we make. These pillars include thriving people, thriving communities, a healthy planet for all, and radical collaboration.

To support our leadership team and all our employees in implementing this change in the day-to-day management of our business and in making investment decisions, we have developed an awareness of Decision Making with Purpose.

We can't do business on a dead planet, so it's in everyone's interest for companies to operate sustainably and ethically.

This is my way and the way we do things at the Living Tours Group with purpose!