Conscious Business
Description
According to the Conscious Capitalism Institute:
"Conscious Businesses are built on three core principles:
- Deeper Purpose: A Conscious Business has a higher purpose that transcends profit maximization. It is clear about and focused on fulfilling that higher purpose, which evolves dynamically over time.
- Stakeholder Orientation: A Conscious Business focuses on delivering value to all of its stakeholders and works to align and harmonize the interests of customers, employees, partners, industry participants, investors, the community, and the environment to the greatest extent possible.
- Conscious Leadership: In a Conscious Business, management embodies conscious leadership and fosters it throughout the organization. Conscious leaders serve as stewards to the company’s deeper purpose and its stakeholders, focusing on fulfilling the company’s purpose, delivering value to its stakeholders, and facilitating a harmony of interests, rather than on personal gain and self-aggrandizement."
(http://www.cc-institute.com/blog1/)
Discussion
Why Now?
Business today needs a new paradigm, because “business as usual” is just not working anymore. Environmental consciousness is exploding; public distrust of business is at an historic high; many employees and customers are disconnected from the companies they work for or buy from; suppliers feel squeezed; communities often organize to keep certain businesses out. The traditional approach to business is like an old operating system that is no longer adequate and needs to be replaced. It is becoming increasingly evident that the old operating system of capitalism is simply not up to the demands being placed upon it in the new millennium.
At the same time that its reputation is deteriorating, the reach and impact of business in the world is growing. Business today has greater power than ever before to enhance or to diminish overall well-being in society. As its power and influence grow, so too must its sense of responsibility and stewardship.
We have chosen the term “Conscious Capitalism” after considerable thought. We believe this term best captures the depth and complexity of the changes in the business-operating model that are needed. It reflects the fact that more people today are at higher levels of consciousness about themselves and the world around them than ever before. This is due in part to natural evolution, but also to the aging of society in many parts of the world, which has resulted in a higher proportion of people in mid-life and beyond, when consciousness is raised and higher-level needs predominate. The explosive growth of the Internet has accelerated and cemented this trend, simultaneously connecting hundreds of millions of people and placing great demands for transparency on companies." (http://www.cc-institute.com/blog1/)