Conscious Capitalism. John Mackey

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СКАЧАТЬ cohort born approximately between 1980 and 2000) are the most socially and environmentally conscious generation we have ever seen. The median age of adults continues to rise virtually everywhere in the world. It is now about forty-four in the United States, in the high forties throughout Europe, and in the fifties in Japan.⁷ Midlife values are ascendant and will soon become dominant throughout much of the world.

      These factors have dramatically changed society and created a transformed landscape for business. We care about many different things because our value systems are shifting, we have much more information, we are better equipped intellectually to process that information, and we can quickly connect with others who are similarly inclined and galvanize them into shared action.

      Because people today care about different things and are better informed, better educated, and better connected than in the past, their expectations from businesses in their roles as customers, team members, suppliers, investors, and community members are rapidly changing. Unfortunately, most companies have not evolved to keep pace with all these changes and are still doing business using mind-sets and practices that were appropriate for a very different world. It is now time to change that.

      Our Rising Consciousness

      Perhaps the greatest change that we humans are experiencing is our rising consciousness. To be conscious means to be fully awake and mindful, to see reality more clearly, and to more fully understand all the consequences—short term and long term—of our actions. It means we have a greater awareness of our inner self, our external reality, and the impacts we have on the world. It also means having a greater commitment to the truth and to acting more responsibly according to what we know to be true.

      One indication of our rising consciousness is that many practices that we found acceptable in the past are unthinkable today. Consider the following: Until 150 years ago, slavery was widely accepted by a large number of people around the world and was the law of the land in many countries; 100 years ago, most people (including many women) thought it acceptable to deny women the right to vote; 75 years ago, colonialism was still widespread and generally accepted; 50 years ago, most people accepted racial segregation as a way of life; 40 years ago, few people knew much or cared about environmental issues; 25 years ago, communism was still seen by many as a viable way to organize our economic and political lives.⁸

      One key indicator of rising consciousness is declining violence. As Steven Pinker documents in his recent book, the present era is “less violent, less cruel and more peaceful” than any other in human history. There is less violence in families, in neighborhoods, and among countries. The probability of dying violently, through war, terrorism, attacks by animals, or murder, is lower than any time previously. People are also less likely than in the past to experience cruelty at the hands of others.⁹ Values like caring, nurturing relationships, and compassion are ascendant throughout society. Billions of us have consciously expanded our circles of concern for whom we feel empathy.

      Of course, we still have plenty of room for improvement. Decades from now, we will no doubt look back on many practices that are commonplace today (such as the treatment of livestock animals) in disbelief. On this journey of constantly rising and evolving consciousness, the scope of our concerns keeps growing wider but also somehow simpler. We are gradually becoming more caring, holistic, and long term in our thinking. Many of us now see and feel the essential interdependence of all people and of all other living things. We recognize more clearly that we are all in the same boat; we must act both individually and collectively to plug the many leaks that our shared boat has sprung. This is a never-ending journey; we will continue to evolve in this way because it represents the evolutionary imperative for us as the most sentient of beings on this planet. The future of life on our planet and the fate of generations yet unborn will be greatly affected by the choices we make today.

      In a vastly different time and context, Abraham Lincoln said, “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise—with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew, and act anew.”¹⁰ All of these changes and challenges offer great business opportunities, but they cannot be effectively addressed if we use the same mental models we have operated with in the past. “Business as usual” will not work anymore. We need a new paradigm for business, a new philosophy to lead and work by.

      Imagine …

      Imagine a business that is born out of a dream about how the world could be and should be. The founders are on fire to create something of relevance, resonance, and permanence—a business that will far outlive them, that delivers real value of multiple kinds to everyone it touches. They want to create a business that their parents and children will be proud of, that aspires to so much more than making money—a force for good that enhances the health and well-being of society. They dream of creating a business that enriches the world by its existence and brings joy, fulfillment, and a sense of meaning to all who are touched by it.

      Picture a business built on love and care rather than stress and fear, whose team members are passionate and committed to their work. Their days race by in a blur of focused intensity, collaboration, and camaraderie. Far from becoming depleted and burned out, they find themselves at the end of each day newly inspired and freshly committed to what brought them to the business in the first place—the opportunity to be part of something larger than themselves, to make a difference, to craft a purposeful life while earning a living.

      Think of a business that cares profoundly about the well-being of its customers, seeing them not as consumers but as flesh-and-blood human beings whom it is privileged to serve. It would no more mislead, mistreat, or ignore its customers than any thoughtful person would exploit loved ones at home. Its team members experience the joy of service, of enriching the lives of others.

      Envision a business that embraces outsiders as insiders, inviting its suppliers into the family circle and treating them with the same love and care it showers on its customers and team members. Imagine a business that is a committed and caring citizen of every community it inhabits, elevating its civic life and contributing in multiple ways to its betterment. Imagine a business that views its competitors not as enemies to be crushed but as teachers to learn from and fellow travelers on a journey toward excellence. Visualize a business that genuinely cares about the planet and all the sentient beings that live on it, that celebrates the glories of nature, that thinks beyond carbon and neutrality to become a healing force that nurses the ecosphere back to sustained vitality.

      Imagine a business that exercises great care in whom it hires, where hardly anyone ever leaves once he or she joins. Imagine a business with fewer managers, because it doesn’t need anyone to look over peoples’ shoulders to make sure they are working or know what to do, a business that is self-managing, self-motivating, self-organizing, and self-healing like any evolved, sentient being.

      See in your mind’s eye a business that chooses and promotes leaders because of their wisdom and capacity for love and care, individuals who lead by mentoring and inspiring people rather than commanding them or using carrots and sticks. These leaders care passionately about their people and the purpose of their business and little for power or personal enrichment.

      Imagine a business that exists in a virtuous cycle of multifaceted value creation, generating social, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, cultural, physical, and ecological wealth and well-being for everyone it touches, while also delivering superior financial results year after year, decade after decade. Imagine a business that recognizes that while our planetary resources are limited, human creativity is unlimited and continually fosters the conditions in which its people can rise to their extraordinary, almost miraculous potential.

      Such businesses—suffused with higher purpose, leavened with authentic caring, influential and inspirational, egalitarian and committed to excellence, trustworthy and transparent, admired and emulated, loved and respected—are not imaginary entities in СКАЧАТЬ