My Riverford organic veg box arrived last week. For those not familiar with Riverford, each box contains a newsletter written by Guy Watson (Founder of Riverford Organic Farm). In this particular newsletter he was talking his motivations behind Riverford. These were similar to those behind toggle and the article struck a cord because it coincided with our launch of the laundry service.

“As Yasmina triumphed over Kate as Alan Sugar’s apprentice, we hear Sir Alan is to become a Lord and government advisor on enterprise. Brash, competitive and aggressively selfish behavior makes compelling viewing but has precious little to with good business. I can’t help enjoying the show; I even suspect there is a fair amount of integrity and honesty in the down-to-earth, finger wagging, boy-done-good Sir Alan’s approach, but sales and short-term deal making are just a small part of business. Most successful businesses spend far more time building long-term relationships with their suppliers and customers than they do striking short-term deals.

I stepped out of school in the unbridled market mania of the Reagan/Thatcher years. After a few years milking cows I packed my bags, bought a snappy suit and threw myself into the throng in London and New York as a management consultant. It was lucrative and great fun, but, for me, ultimately soul sapping and it was only two years before I was back on the farm. The unquestioning idolatry of the marketplace as the only valid solution, whether in education, health, climate change or school dinners continued unabated through the Blair/Clinton neo-liberalism. Meanwhile I grew my vegetables and business with an increasing sense that there must be a better way – and a determination to find it. My beef with the Sir Alan approach is that by viewing every object, person and situation as a trade commodity we ultimately belittle the human condition and denigrate our lives as a result….I may not have done as well as Sir Alan, but the belief that good business should be based on serving the genuine, long-term needs of all stakeholders is gaining ground.”

A fantastic lecture called ‘Morals and Markets’ by Professor Michael Sandel (something Mike had already passed around the toggle office) was mentioned at the end of the newsletter. If you are not already familiar with it, it’s definitely worth checking out. The lecture discusses the need for politics that encourage a more morally engaged public life – it looks at the moral limits of markets and how there are some things money can buy but shouldn’t. But that’s another blog post…