Conscious Capitalism
In todays global capitalist society, business remains the dominating force. Everything we see, do and work for has its’ foundation in business. Our world marches forward each day and seeks to “progress” through the art of business. Our economy dictates everything we live for and it is fueled by business. So what exactly is business and how is it going to help our society take the next great leap in cultural evolution?
The foremost goal of business is of course to turn a profit. Other side effects of this are also progress and innovation. Competition and ever-changing consumer needs are what force businesses to evolve and innovate much faster than other institutions such as government, education or religion. It is in this respect that business is the greatest force for change in our world today. Essentially, business is just a corporation working towards a specific goal. And a corporation is just another word for a group of people working together with a common vision. When we pool our resources as people with a specific goal in mind, amazing things can and have been accomplished.
As our minds evolve so to does our desires, values and definition for what success is. Social business is the new way of conducting our professional lives that incorporates not only our need to make money but also our need to live purposeful, meaningful lives. In this respect business is evolving to incorporate what I call the “triple bottom line”. The triple bottom line measures the success of a business based not only their bottom line but also their impact on people & planet. Instead of a business purely measuring their success on the amount of money taken in they are beginning to incorporate their impact on “profit, people & planet.”
A human is a multi-dimensional being and as such it is possible and highly likely that an individual would care about other things besides just “making it” in this world with their success based solely on monetary gain. So as our consciousness evolves so to does our values and definition of what success is. This is why it is so important for people to develop a vision for their lives rather than just focusing on making money. Sure, we all like to make money; and indeed it is necessary to survive in this reality – but this does not mean we should neglect other important aspects of living such as our impact on each other and also our planet.
It is refreshing to see many businesses leading the charge as corporate social responsibility becomes an important aspect of many corporations strategic objectives. It is now up to each of us as individuals to hold these corporations responsible by becoming responsible consumers ourselves. It is also up to us to use business to our own advantage in order to enact meaningful change and pool our own resources to ensure we also have a positive impact on each other and our planet.
In the coming decade we will see an unprecedented rise in entrepreneurship as individuals such as ourselves step up and begin dictating what it can mean for a business to succeed, thrive and positively impact people and planet even in turbulent times. We are beginning to turn the tide even as you read this article and the floodgates to massive social evolution will not be held back much longer.
If we can all live from the perspective of the “triple bottom line” then I can guarantee that positive change and evolution in our society will be inevitable. It is however the unique challenge of our generation to change the very definition of what “success” is and aspire to these higher values through the choices we make each day. May your choices be guided by your own intuition and the highest potential of what you define as success.