A couple months ago, our co-founder Adrian was interviewed by Leandro Machado, co-founder of the Brazilian firm CAUSE, to speak about how we, the Purpose Foundation, came to coin the term steward-ownership and what we have learnt on our 10-year journey bringing this model into the world. Curious? Read on – and join us on the adventure.

 

• Leandro: How would you describe what steward-ownership is?

Adrian: There are probably many answers I could give here, but I’ll try to stay away from the standard definitions you’d find on a website and will go with what feels most true to me in this moment: For me, steward-ownership is freedom.

We often think of corporate ownership as something fixed – something god-given or scientifically determined. But steward-ownership, at its core, opens up the space to find the right legal structure for what you actually want to create in the world. If your perspective is that a company should exist to increase shareholder value, that’s fine – there are plenty of legal forms for that. But if you’re seeking a different perspective, steward-ownership offers an alternative. It moves away from the idea of wealth ownership and replaces it with stewardship. And in a world where it’s considered normal, sometimes even noble, for companies to grow individual wealth as their central purpose, stepping away from that can open up a tremendous amount of freedom.

It allows you to ask: What is the mission I want to serve? What kind of impact do I want to have in the world – through this company, in this region, or even globally? You’re no longer operating under the automatism that you exist to increase shareholder value. And you get to fill that space with whatever truly aligns with your intention. That’s the beauty of it. And why I believe steward-ownership is freedom.

• Can you give an example of what that freedom means to you?

What really brought me into the topic of ownership and finance was an experience I had working in a Berlin startup as part of the management team. After four years, the company was sold to a large media corporation in Germany. And I experienced what that did to the business: the shift in how we thought about long-term versus short-term, how we treated employees and partners, how we related to customers – a lot changed. During that time, I noticed that I had changed. I realized this in one particular situation. Over the course of that startup journey, I had to lay people off, which is, unfortunately, part of entrepreneurship. But in those early years, I could always look myself – and them – in the eye. The decisions were transparent, respectful, and came from a place of integrity.

But the first layoff I had to make after the company was sold – I still remember sitting there and saying something like, “We have to do this because of the numbers, because of the new owners.” I was pushing away responsibility. I noticed how easy it was to do that, when the real responsibility and ownership for the company is somewhere else. And that happened automatically. I didn't even realize it. That moment was eye-opening. I studied psychology and have always been someone who thinks deeply about how we treat one another. But even for me, it became so easy to hide behind the idea that “the real responsibility lies somewhere else.” True responsibility – real ownership – means being able to say: I, as Adrian, stand behind this decision. And that’s only possible if the organization gives you the space and authority to step into that responsibility. If all the power ultimately lies with shareholders, you’re in a way not truly responsible. That’s the beauty – but also the burden – of the freedom steward-ownership creates.

 

• Many economic systems are built on the idea that people are self-interested by default. Do you think that assumption is flawed?

Our work around steward-ownership builds on a certain picture of human nature. It is based on the belief that if individuals are given full responsibility and placed in the right conditions, they will act pro-socially. The idea that humans are inherently selfish or bad has dominated for decades – and so many systems are built on that assumption. I think we need to break away from that.

 

• If the steward-ownership model were to disappear – or never take hold – what would the world lose? A bit of a philosophical question to end on, but…

Oh, I'll need a couple of seconds to think about that… Now, I’ve spoken a lot about freedom, about deliberate and conscious choices around power. But what I want to say now feels a bit violent – but I think it’s important. If steward-ownership was to disappear, the world would lose a stinging little needle, one that pokes at individuals, at capitalism, at entrepreneurs, at investors, one that says: “What you’re seeing isn’t the only truth. There is another way.” Right now, it’s just a small needle – but it’s an annoying one. It keeps pressing on the idea of power and money, reminding us that there’s a different perspective. There is this needle, quietly insisting: “What is your choice because it doesn’t have to be this way.”

And I think if we lost steward-ownership, we’d lose that. We’d lose that energy, that sharp little reminder and something essential, something uncomfortable – possible in the best way – would be gone.

 

Thank you for the interview, Adrian.