Sustainability Magazine February 2023 | Page 169

YBS the highs and lows of being a CEO . Sampson calls him an inspirational figure and likes the fact that Bartlett dropped out of university , like he did .
David Morris says that central to his style of leadership is a ‘ belief in better ’. He is inspired by people – both from within YBS and outside the organisation – who are able to think differently , challenge the ordinary and strive for something extraordinary . “ I genuinely find myself engaged by people who are able to break paradigms , think differently and lift themselves out of the status quo . People who are able to say ‘ here ' s a completely different way of doing things ’.”
That disruptive mindset has always been rare , but wherever they exist those people are usually invaluable assets . There is clearly something of a disruptor personality trait among Morris and Sampson themselves . When we first speak , it is just a few days before Christmas – yet there is no let-up for either of them . They brim with passion about the progress that YBS has made , the potential it ’ s unleashing within the organisation , and crucially the benefits it will bring for customers .
Everything comes back to the customer YBS has spent the better part of eight years reorienting its business towards customers : giving them the platforms and digital channels they expect , but also honing its propositions so that it can meet underserved demand in the grey space between traditional high-street lenders . David Morris believes that , because business value has played such an integral role in YBS ’ transformation , the customer has become an inescapable end-goal . Every path that YBS takes now leads to the customer . That means the customer has become a really useful currency for explaining digital initiatives to executive
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