epsiode 69 - the word is immemorial

In what I hope is another thought-provoking episode of The Word is Leadership, I challenge leaders to combat institutional amnesia by rediscovering their organisation’s founding purpose.

The discussion centres on the organisational flip law – the tendency for companies to transition from being “a purpose in search of assets” to “assets in search of purpose” as they grow.

This shift creates bureaucratic processes that bury the original mission that once fuelled innovation.

The solution lies in in memoriam  im memoria– a Latin-inspired principle meaning “no memory in memory of.” Leaders must become organisational archaeologists, reviving core values through founder story rituals.

I argue that true leadership requires temporal stewardship – using historical purpose as an “acid test” for modern decisions. Rather than chasing futuristic visions, sustainable success comes from answering: What has been true in your organization since time immemorial?1.

In an age of AI disruption, this episode offers a contrarian anchor: the past holds keys to undying relevance. For CEOs, HR directors, and scaling startups, it’s a clarion call to transform dusty archives into living legacies. I hope that this episode will show you how excavating yesterday’s dreams can fuel tomorrow’s breakthroughs – because purpose remembered is future reimagined.