Conscious Capitalism – “Do Both”
Rand Stagen, CEO of Stagen, founder of the Integral Leadership Academy and founder and board member of Conscious Capitalism, Inc., was in Chicago this past week. Lucky for us, he agreed to spend some time with our executive members at our Q2 Executive Breakfast on June 26th.
At one point in the conversation he said – “It’s not enough to be a conscious company. You have to have a great business model and be able to execute. Conscious Capitalism. DO BOTH.” I just love this. So much so that we’re going to get some t-shirts printed with it. Meghan and Maren, co-founders of Conscious Company Magazine were there too. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see an issue devoted to this in the future.
It’s time to pay some attention to the second “C” in Conscious Capitalism. It feels like much of what’s out there about Conscious Capitalism emphasizes the importance of having a purpose, values and mindful culture – yet forgets that we have to have a great strategy, market differentiation, products and execution too. Doug Rauch, CEO of Conscious Capitalism, Inc. said to me earlier in the month, “Is it enough to have a great culture? Will that absolutely cause you to do better than your competitors? Not necessarily. You have to have a great business model too.”
Not long ago, I had the good fortune of spending some time with Jay Goltz, Founder and CEO of The Goltz Group, which includes Chicago Art Source and Jayson Home. Jay is a sought after speaker about entrepreneurship and conscious business. It was a Friday afternoon and I was meeting Jay for the first time and introducing him to Conscious Capitalism. Jay is an energetic guy and jumped right in challenging the ideas as he tried to get a sense of what we were talking about. When he read our description of what the movement is about that said, “Business can and should be done with a higher purpose in mind, not just with a view to maximizing profits” He said, “Hey wait! It should say, business should have a higher purpose as well as maximizing profits!” I loved his unapologetic enthusiasm for the business of conscious business. If we’re really seeking to make a lasting difference in the world, we have to last.
Rand Stagen’s message to our CEOs last Friday morning was about the awesome responsibility and complexity of conscious leadership – that it’s no small feat to be able to be a great businessperson and an enlightened person. That’s the essence of the fourth pillar of Conscious Capitalism – “Conscious Leadership.” It’s not just about servant leadership, but also about being able to balance opposing ideas like thinking and feeling, freedom and responsibility, purpose andprofit.
1 Comment
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Holly Jordan on August 19, 2015 at 3:33 am
As we work with clients on sales development we find that this gap isn’t unusual. That when “Conscious Selling” includes metrics and measures and sales process it doesn’t mean it excludes allowing employees to feel empowered. That in fact these measures and metrics and process are mile markers on the road to sales success and keep you on target.
Balancing clear sales strategy and enlightenment is the path to true “Conscious Selling”.
We are interviewing companies now for our research paper on this topic. More to come. #consciousselling #balance
