Democracy, Conscious Capitalism And Changing The World, Part I

HOT READS FOR THE PRACTITIONER

Title: A Path to a Better World

Competencies: visionary leadership, entrepreneurial leadership, financial leadership, building strategic relationships, business acumen, driving strategic direction, employee empowerment, painting a vision, political leadership, strategic planning

Who benefits: executives, entrepreneurs, people with entrepreneurial spirit, socially conscious people, students of business

Consultant Usage: must read for organizational level consultants

What’s it about? I sometimes kiddingly say to my friends and colleagues “I have forgotten more than I ever knew.” Aging has its advantages. We don’t often think of forgetfulness as an advantage, but it can be. I’m not talking “Old Timers” or Senior Moments. We all go into rooms and forget why we are there. I laugh those off. Usually I am multitasking in my brain and just forgot which task I was tasking.

I am talking about forgetting something much more important. I am talking about forgetting “facts”. You see, I use to have the mistaken belief that facts are important. I was worried when I couldn’t remember the size of the US national debt.

I have spent a lot of time lately wondering, with few definitive conclusions, about the relationship between data, facts, information, knowledge and wisdom. All I know for sure is that there is an ocean-wide gap between data/facts and knowledge/wisdom. I listen to two politically involved friends with sharply different points of view sling “facts” in each other’s face. I watch or listen to media that spews data/facts at machine gun pace as if some of it will splatter on me and leave me with some incredible insight.

There are two major problems with “facts”. First, facts are often confused with wisdom. Nothing could be further from the truth. Second, facts are often confused with “truth”.  Again, nothing could be further from the truth.

On the relative rare occasions the media puts facts into some informational context, I still don’t know what to do with the information.

So I look at the inability to retain data/facts/information as a gift. It frees me to seek knowledge and wisdom, precious commodities both. It frees me to seek out what is truly important and relevant in this world we live in.

As I write this, history is being altered by millions of people in Egypt and Brazil. There is also something brewing in Iran. From my model of viewing the world, the common thread in all three of these countries is that government “facts” no longer explain reality. Large chunks of the population don’t want any more excuses or reasons why things aren’t working (facts), they are seeking knowledge and wisdom that leads to greater truths. They all want a better world that is real, not a fact based explanation (excuse) of what’s not working.

This mindset leads me to recommend a business book to you dear reader. What if I told you that this the best pure business book you have read in years? What if I told you, you will gain knowledge and wisdom from this insightful book? What if I told you that this book is a first-class example of knowledge turned into wisdom? What if this book could serve as a model to change the world?

What if I told you this book could bring the tarnished reputation of capitalism back to respectability and effectiveness? I think this book is just that template.

Before going further, let me add this caveat. Democracy or various stages of it, has been on a dramatic upswing worldwide since the fall of the Berlin Wall. By now you know me and the “facts” vacuum, but there are some interesting “stats” to consider regarding democracy. In 1974 only 29% of the countries were electoral democracies (21% if you use a stricter behavioral definition). As of 2012 the number of countries now falling into the electoral democratic definition has increased to 60% (46% if you use the behavioral definition).

The problem, and it a significant one, is once a country obtains democracy it often doesn’t have the ability to sustain it. In most cases it is the government of a nation that has to provide the impetus for development. The newly elected governments often seem more interested, despite publically expressed intentions, on consolidating power and establishing a culture of corruption and greed. “The People” are mere afterthoughts. And a negative cycle begins anew. More established governments also tend to put self-preservation ahead of progress. This too holds a nation back from its potential.

So where to go? As I will attempt to show, the long-term solution seems to come from Business (with a capital “B”). But not the Business we think of in today’s terms.

There is just enough evidence of a new business model that could evolve into a worldwide solution to democratic sustainability. It is a model that could turn the word “capitalism” from a dirty word to something we could all believe in and support, no matter what our political persuasions. It is a model that might even, someday (gasp), help redefine the purpose of government (or at least the actions of government).

To continue with the caveat. It won’t be easy. As a dear friend points out, this new model requires an educated populace, one familiar with the tenets of business. In many countries this means multinational businesses entering using the new model and demonstrating its effectiveness. This is not a quick process. We will measure the changes in years, even more likely in decades. It also requires better banking models.

Thinking aloud, maybe MOOCs like Coursera can develop entrepreneurial business tracks for developing democracies just like the recently develop education track for teaching practitioners. I had a nice visit in my credit union yesterday. I have used credit unions for years now. Always enjoyed my visits. Why, I ask. Ah, because credit unions are owned by members. They have an entirely different outlook than (big) banks.  Maybe something like credit unions could bridge some financial gaps.

Maybe credit unions can be a model for supporting conscious capitalism. I am just speculating with you – but now there is hope, a vision, a path to a better future for all the peoples of this planet.  Democracy + conscious capitalism + better banking model + universal education!

Twenty years ago I was a pessimist. I was convinced that some knucklehead with less foresight than a termite would set off a nuclear device that would quickly bring the world into a nuclear confrontation. I was afraid by now the survivors would be spending their days picking up the pieces and wondering what the world could have looked like.

These days I am an optimist. Democracy is on the upswing, knuckleheads are being overthrown or kicked out, and there is an economic method to improve everyone’s standing in the world. It’s not perfect. It will take time. But there is hope, and that is a good thing.

Next week I want to describe the (alluded to) book in detail. Meanwhile if you want to get a head start, check out Conscious Capitalism.  In two weeks I want to tell you more about who is behind conscious capitalism and how they are building momentum.  Stay tuned!

Catch you later.

Bill Bradley

Bill Bradley (mostly) retired after 35 years in organizational consulting, training and management development. During those years he worked internally with seven organizations and trained and consulted externally with more than 90 large and small businesses, government agencies, hospitals and schools.