Purpose-Led CEO Interview Series, Phillip Haid, Founder & CEO, Public Inc.

We had the opportunity to speak with Phillip Haid, Founder & CEO of Public Inc. Phillip founded Public Inc. in 2008 to disrupt the way companies think about doing “good”. Driven by a passion to prove that social and environmental impact is a key business driver to achieve profit with purpose, he set out to build a social impact agency – designing social and environmental purpose brands, strategies, programs and campaigns. As CEO, he is responsible for overseeing the strategic and creative growth of the business, including oversight on some of Public’s North American clients.

What was your first job and what did you learn from it?

My first job was in retail at Club Monaco where I worked as a sales associate. I learned that I was pretty good with people. There was no training on how to sell but I learned that you want to create the conditions for someone to want to buy versus trying to sell, which was much more authentic and honest. It is about helping people to solve their needs or problems and it is about taking the long view versus being transactional. It was more just building rapport, being honest. 

I still bring that same approach to my work today - honesty and authenticity with every interaction, always taking the long view and building long-term relationships.

As you look back on your career, what were the pivotal moments that led you to your role today?

I see my career as an iterative journey. Several moments have shaped me as a leader running an organization.

I ran a summer camp in Alberta for kids while pursuing my master's degree. It was a great experience. As the director of the camp, in those formative years, I began thinking about leadership - how to inspire and guide people, and how to find the strength to draw a line when someone isn't behaving appropriately.

Before starting Public, I served as the Managing Director at a social issues advertising agency called Manifest Communications. It was a seminal experience in terms of learning how to run a company. I initially joined as a strategist and eventually assumed the role of Managing Director. Despite lacking prior experience, it was a valuable learning opportunity. I also learned the lesson that culture really does come from the top, which everyone understands intellectually. 

I'm not sure if anything could have fully prepared me for the leap to start my own company, Public in 2008. This was just before the collapse of Lehman Brothers – a tough time to be starting an agency focused on social impact. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been surrounded with love and support. My biggest cheerleaders throughout my career have been my mother and wife.

Over the years I have learned that stepping out of your comfort zone is a constant journey of stretching and growth, though it's never easy. Confidence in your abilities is crucial. As an entrepreneur, confronting fear head-on and pushing through it is key - don't succumb to it.

If you think back on leaders who inspired you in your career or leadership style, who were they and why were they inspiring?

There are a lot of different people, who inspired me. 

There's no question that my mom was an inspiration early on and continues to be. My father, who has passed away, was an architect and an entrepreneur. Observing and learning from him while growing up certainly had a significant impact. I learned from him that regardless of challenges in business, he never let it affect him or break his spirit. He just kept moving forward.

Mr. Taylor, my teacher at Kelvin High School in Winnipeg, had a significant influence in supporting me and my friends. We were active on social issues and successfully convinced the administration to let us organize social impact events for students to mobilize, discuss and address various social issues. He was a great supporter and consistently encouraged us to speak up.

When I was in my undergrad with some friends, we organized a group called Global Youth. We would go into high school classrooms and conduct simulations to teach students about various social issues from a global perspective. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and it was during this time that I met Zeeba Loxley. She is an incredible social justice advocate and proved to be a great mentor to me. Zeeba taught me a lot about equity issues. She encouraged me to learn about how other people live and their experiences; it was an eye opener.

There were other people who had a significant influence on my perspective - shaping my view of the world and deepening my understanding of the inherent injustices about the family you were born into and where you were born. All of these individuals inspired and influenced me, creating a mosaic of experiences.

What motivates you every day?

Most days, I describe it as feeling like a kid in a candy store when I am working on various social and environmental issues; it energizes and challenges me. It's what motivates me to get out of bed.

Whether it's creating a holiday campaign to address period poverty or launching campaigns to raise both awareness and funds for equity issues. I love the idea of engaging people to take action that move issues forward. It's not easy, but the work is exciting. It's a lot of fun, especially when we're trying to solve a problem or present an idea that sparks engagement. The most rewarding moments are when we launch initiatives, put things into the world, and see how people react. Those moments make it all worthwhile.

Apart from challenges, I find joy in the people I work with, and the incredible team we have. At Public, I consistently meet interesting and passionate individuals who are dedicated to making a positive impact in the world.

What is the purpose and vision of Public Inc.?

Our purpose is to accelerate change in the world; that's why we exist.

Predominantly, though not exclusively, we pursue this through the philosophy of 'profit with purpose.' This is why I started the company. I aimed to prove, at scale, that embedding social and environmental impact into business not only creates more societal impact but can also be as profitable, and potentially more profitable over the long term, than a business that doesn't prioritize these aspects.

Our vision is to be the leading social impact agency globally. We believe that we can have an outsized influence in helping companies become a greater force for good in the world. For me, it's about the level of influence we can have, ideally globally but starting in North America.

Profit with purpose goes hand in hand, but it doesn't start with profit; it starts with purpose, driving profit forward.

How has being clear on your purpose and vision benefited you as a leader?

Well, there's no question that one of the key benefits is that it allows us to attract great talent, probably ahead of where we would be given our size. I always say, 'If you're not drawn by the purpose of the company, why would you come here? There are so many other places to go.' Certainly, the most significant benefit has been the attraction and retention of the team.

We just celebrated our 15th anniversary and I see 15 as the end of the beginning. We were ahead of the market in terms of the idea of 'profit with purpose.' With the depth of expertise we have today, and a strong track record, we are benefiting in terms of attracting large companies and organizations to work with us—the kind of outsized influence we aim to have. But we still have a long way to go in terms of achieving our ambition. 

What one piece of advice would you give other CEOs and leaders regarding leading with purpose?

Leading with purpose and being purpose driven is difficult. It's not for everybody.

One piece of advice I say to people all of the time is, “how badly do you want it?” I think if you are purpose-led, you have to constantly come back to that purpose because it isn't for the faint of heart, it's not easy. 

If I think about my own career and as leader of Public, there are many times I probably should have just folded, thrown in the cards, closed-up shop, because it was really difficult. What propelled me forward was a very strong belief in what we’re trying to do, what we’re trying to prove in the world. A strong dose of optimism and dreaming helped, too. 

If you really want it, then you have to keep digging in and pushing. Knowing that you're trying to do something positive in the world. You will have to keep asking yourself very sincerely how badly you want it and be honest with yourself. It’s actually okay to say, “I'm going to change gears”.

The second piece of advice I would offer to leaders is that it’s important to communicate internally on social issues happening in the world, but you don’t always have to communicate externally. When you choose to do so, it's really important that you back up your words with action, even in the face of criticism. You can't blink. It’s easy to back down in those moments. But if you do, it will undermine your credibility in a nanosecond. 

And third, be truly authentic about your actions, which means you have to be transparent. You have to own, sorry for this word, but you have to own your sh*t. Own the situation, the mistake, whatever the issue is. You may upset some people, but most will appreciate your transparency, follow you and will give you credit for owning it. 

Finally, be extremely clear on your purpose. You need to say it, and you need to say it again and again and again. The constant drumbeat of communicating the idea, talking about the idea with your team members and clients, writing about it, speaking about it can get kind of monotonous. But as a marketer, what I can tell you is people need to see a message seven times before it even registers. 

The steady drumbeat of the message combined with your own passion behind the purpose will get your people repeating it, and when they're saying it, they will believe it. This is when you start to see the amplification, you start to get scale of message across the organization. Clarity and consistency of your message is critical.

What one question would you like to ask other purpose-led CEOs?

What do you want to change in the world and why? 

One question from the CEO we interviewed before you, Shari Graydon, Founder & CEO of Informed Opinions.

Have there been circumstances in which departing from your purpose was useful, and you were glad you did so?

No, I have really tried throughout our 15 years as a company to stay completely true to our purpose. There have been a couple of times where it was a slight stretch, and it never had any value to us. We only work on things that move a social or environmental issue forward and have resisted the urge to take on non-purpose work, especially when it was lucrative.