Democracy, Conscious Capitalism And Changing The World, Part III

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, senior managers, students of business, educators

Consultant Usage: must read for organizational level consultants, important background material for managerial trainers

What’s it about? For the past two weeks I have been spewing optimism for our planet primarily because of the growing number of countries that embrace some form of democracy (albeit minimally in some cases) and an emerging economic model that might be enough to sustain these countries.

And an “oh by the way”, that this new economic model may in time supplant traditional capitalistic businesses in more “developed” countries.

The economic model is called conscious capitalism. Last week I reviewed a book by the same name. My praise was profuse. It would not surprise me if some of you readers thought I went overboard and that my optimism was misplaced. And you might be correct. But I am not alone. The book, Conscious Capitalism, may be the most visible and the forerunner of a movement; but there are a lot of people, organizations and businesses in support of this economic model.

Below I have listed just a few places you can learn more or at least appreciate how much support and energy is being devoted to bringing about global change through enlightened economic actions.

Conscious Capitalism Website: An obvious place to begin is the Conscious Capitalism website. It is place to find out who is behind the movement and to find a wide variety of related resources.

New Models of Business in Society: “Profits and stakeholder value go together, and this course explains how.” Conscious capitalism is going to college. Any concerned citizen should consider taking this free online course from Coursera. The course is only 5 weeks in duration and has fewer requirements than most of the courses on this site. Please take a moment and click on the link and read the one page outline of the course.

Why Being Selfless is Good for Business: This recent short article offers a good two-page summary of conscious capitalism and why it is so important to all of us.

Firms of Endearment: How World-Class Companies Profit from Passion and Purpose: “Today’s best companies get it. From retail to finance and industries in between, the organizations who recognize that doing good is good business are becoming the ultimate value creators. They’re changing their culture and generating every form of value that matters: emotional, experiential, social, and financial. And they’re doing it for all their stakeholders. Not because it’s simply politically correct, because it’s the only path to long-term competitive advantage. These are the firms of endearment. Companies people love doing business with, working for and collaborating with as partners.” The link is to the second edition which won’t be out until December. If you can’t wait, the 2007 first edition is still an option (at the same link).

Stakeholder Theory: The State of the Art: Mention 1984 and people most likely remember a book title, George Orwell and a totalitarian government. Little remembered is a book published in that year called Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach which was the precursor to what is now being called conscious capitalism. Perhaps its biggest contribution was helping to shape and define business ethics and corporate social responsibility. The author is back with new colleagues writing a definitive history and direction of modern business promising “a more just and humane capitalism as well as a more successful capitalism of value creation.”

From Smart to Wise: Acting and Leading with Wisdom: You can’t have conscious capitalism without wise leadership. The book explains why “smart” is overrated and identifies six characteristics of wise leaders. Much of this book has been said in other books, articles, videos and speeches. But the book does a good job of relating these ideas to the big picture and long-term success of the emerging business model.

The High-Purpose Company: The TRULY Responsible (and Highly Profitable) Firms That Are Changing Business Now: Developing a high-purpose culture is the way to go if you want to change your organization for the better and sustain long-term profitability. Famed management guru Peter Drucker didn’t mince words, and knew how to identify and articulate the keys to success in business: ““Culture eats strategy for lunch.”

It’s Just Good Business: The Emergence of Conscious Capitalism & the Practice of Working for Good: If you don’t have time for the above course, website, article or books, this is a short, easy to read primer that sums up the basics and why conscious capitalism can be and should be the wave of the future.

These resources are just some of the initial flames fanning a concept on fire. They are the tip of the iceberg. Fire and Ice.

This concludes my three part series, but I suspect you haven’t heard the last from me about conscious capitalism. 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.