The Power of Pinky Promises
The power of a pinky promise. More than an intent or aspiration. Quite frankly, it is something that cannot be broken once those smallest fingers link together.
I have made a number of pinky promises to my family this year. A new Christmas tree in the new year sales to replace one literally falling apart. A promise to trust my 12-year old daughter to walk home from school with her friends and not have to wait for a (late!) parent. A promise to allow my seven-year-old son to start a martial art, and a promise to my seven-month-old twins to watch them splashing in the bath at least once a week.
So, here are my Purple pinky promises to you.
Purple Tuesday will support organisations to deliver and embed all 3,500 commitments made to improve the customer experience for disabled people and their families. The team will be proactive with advice, guidance and resources to make this happen. We want all 3,500 commitments to be achieved by the end of June 2020 and we are creating an old fashioned, but digital, commitment-ometer to track progress for all to see. Our Purple Tuesday disabled ambassadors will tell us honestly if the experience on the ground looks and feels positively different. And where it is not, they will provide constructive feedback to find solutions that work.
For those who watch The Last Leg, you will know they use ‘#IsItOk’. By the end of 2020 all organisations working with Purple will be confident to say it is ok to see disability as a commercial opportunity. It is ok to employ disabled people because they are good for your business. But, it will not be ok to pay disabled staff less (if you are in any doubt see my previous post). And it is not ok to cut corners in providing customer services to disabled people.
The red lines have been well and truly drawn.
But there are wider Purple pinky promises. I have talked about creating an online platform bringing together the Purple Pound consumers and those organisations absolutely committed to disability inclusion. A note to myself: either make it happen or shut up.
Purple has also made a commitment to ramp up its training offer to disabled people, to access the skills required to work in a modern world and to take advantage of the digital evolution. Talking modern, I have made a pinky promise to finally trade in my trusty Blackberry for something a little more 21st century!
So, trade-up your (broken) new year’s resolutions for some Purple pinky promises of your own. Make disability inclusion a central part of what you do every day, and not a part time nice thing to do. If you are not the decision-maker (or budget holder), make a pinky promise to put them in the picture to make it happen.
Together, we can turn 2020 pinky Purple.
Mike Adams
Chief Executive Officer
7 January 2020