Empty companies have no soul, no staff loyalty, and no sense of why they exist. They won't last.

You may have heard of the phrase empty calories. Sugar is a good example. Up there on calorification (you have the album?) and kind of not really up there on nutrients.

This got me thinking about empty companies. Companies perhaps that focus on the share price, but aren't really doing too much for society. An empty company has little loyalty or zeal from its people. Nor from its customers. Nor a sense of why it is improving life on this planet. It¹s where the Man has taken over and sucked any soul from it. Zombie businesses.

Often, from space, two competitors might look identical: same size, same industry, same customers. But when you look underneath the bonnet, or work in one, they are very different. In the good business, the employees talk about 'we' to describe the company, not 'they'. They presume trust. They are proud to say who they work for. And they have a sense of mission that includes but goes beyond the share price.

An example:  Nando's vs Burger King. Burger King (where I have had access to the inner workings of the company and Board) is in my view a zombie business. What is it really for? The company, at least from what I saw, had little care for its customers or people, has been owned by various corporations and consortia of PE firms, is pretty powerless to influence its franchisees (who by now are more keen on playing golf or flying around in their private jets than serving their customers or keeping their restaurants clean), and has in general run out of runway. Nando's, on the other hand, is run by the owners, who still care hugely for their mission and people; there is a huge sense of ownership and empowerment in each restaurant, even though they are employing people from the same backgrounds as Burger King are, and there is a sense of humanity and spirit.

I think this is why I often get frustrated when I am in meetings with bankers as they analyse a business. If Burger King and Nando's had the same key stats (revenue, P&L, balance sheet), most (not all) bankers would see no difference. That is like choosing a wife or husband based on key stats and ordering them on Amazon. And bankers and financiers tend to take the EBITDA line for granted and think that all the magic is done after that - with securitisation and balance sheet engineering. The key difference is where those businesses are HEADED. Nando's, I suggest, has cash flows that are sustainable. As a result of a sustainable culture, vision and values.

Sometimes a similar thing can happen when the FD becomes the CEO. Every business needs a vision guy (or girl) and a process guy/girl. The process guy always thinks he can do it without the vision guy. And sometimes when the CEO leaves, the FD convinces the Board that he knows the finances inside out and is secretly glad he can cut the cost of all those stupid away days.

It¹s like when a Chancellor of the Exchequer (who wasn¹t 'all that' anyway) decides he is going to become Prime Minister. 'Look, if you want all that fancy schmancy vision and ethos stuff, I’m not your man. But if you want someone who can stay up late and get bags under their eyes looking at the monthly accounts, that¹s me.' Listening to the PM debates is like listening to an FDs debate. It¹s all about how to shuffle the finances. Where is the debate about how to CREATE wealth for the FDs to shuffle? Where is the debate about what matters beyond the share price?

So could it be that we are fast creating an empty country? I hear business people talking about 'UK plc' as if the most important thing is our economics, our share price. OF COURSE that is important. Of course we need to have a strong and credible currency. Just as any plc or private business needs strong finances. But the bigger question is: what are we here for? What is beneath the bonnet? Do we have spirit? Do we leave school with imagination and verve - not just an ability to add up enough to be an accounts clerk or use a till? Do we treat each other honestly, or default to lying and cheating ourselves and the system? Do we talk about 'we', not 'they'? Do we trust ourselves and our citizens, or do we erect cameras on every street corner? Do we take responsibility or do we accept having chips implanted in our necks?

We want a full country. We also want a good share price, of course. But share price and fullness are not mutually exclusive. In fact, a sustainably high share price is only possible if we are also full of life, vitality, love, sex, wellness, and creativity.