Ep 89: How Much Is Enough? Sandy Blackburn on Rethinking Wealth, Work and Purpose

Episode Overview

What does it mean to redefine wealth — not as accumulation, but as enoughness? And what happens when you build a life and a career around community, purpose and shared humanity instead of individual achievement?

In this profound and compelling conversation, I speak with Sandy Blackburn, one of Australia’s leading voices in social impact and the founder of Social Outcomes and Impact Culture Australia.

Sandy spent 15 years living and working in South Africa during the final years of apartheid and the emergence of democracy — years that shaped her identity, worldview and lifelong commitment to social change. She shares the lessons those years taught her about community, belonging, and Ubuntu — the African philosophy meaning “I am because we are.”

We explore what Western cultures have lost in their worship of individualism, how business can rediscover its collective heartbeat, and why “enough” might be the most radical idea in the purpose economy.

Sandy also takes us inside her new venture, Impact Culture Australia, and the next frontier for purpose-driven organisations: embedding impact deeply into their culture, systems and ways of working.

This is a rich, layered, deeply human conversation about what really matters in business — and in life.

In This Episode We Explore

• Sandy’s perspective on whether there is a role for love in business
• Her extraordinary journey living in South Africa during the last violent years of apartheid
• How Ubuntu reshaped her understanding of identity and connection
• What Western cultures lose when individualism is elevated above community
• The deep lessons she learned about privilege, belonging and bearing witness
• How South Africa taught her the real meaning of “enough”
• Why so many corporate leaders privately feel unfulfilled
• The “golden hour” of township life — and what it reveals about authenticity and humanity
• The origins of Social Outcomes and the creation of Impact Culture Australia
• Why impact measurement is no longer enough — and why culture is the next frontier
• How flexible, trust-based business models can create richer lives
• What Sandy hopes the sector will look like in the next three years

About Sandy Blackburn

Sandy Blackburn has four decades of experience working in social change, organisational development, capacity building and culture change in Australia and internationally, including extensive work in community and organisational development in pre- and post-apartheid South Africa. Her autobiographical book, Holding Up the Sky: An African Life, captures her 15 years living through one of the most tumultuous and transformative periods in South Africa’s history — a journey that profoundly shaped her identity, worldview and commitment to social justice.

She is one of Australia’s leading thought leaders in social impact and is the founder of Social Outcomes, and more recently Impact Culture Australia.

Before founding these organisations, Sandy was Head of Social Innovation at Westpac, where she created the Organisational Mentoring Program — mobilising hundreds of employees to support for-purpose organisations to build their capacity, a systemic need that is notoriously underfunded. Through this work, and through Social Outcomes, Sandy has worked closely with many hundreds of for-purpose organisations, developing a deep understanding of the sector’s strengths and development needs.

Sandy is also co-founder of Impact Investing Australia, sits on the NAB Foundation’s Investment Committee, and serves on multiple for-purpose boards. She is a sought-after speaker, bestselling author, and holds a Masters Degree in Adult Education.

Connect With Sandy

Website: Social Outcomes Impact Culture Australia LinkedIn: Sandy Blackburn