We lead in a seminal age for humanity. What will be our legacy?
Business often gets a bad rap for its ethics and sometimes with justification, but let us not be blinded to the transformational space that it can be and is in many cases.
Recently, I was introduced to someone who had been very generous and helpful to a friend of mine and I shared my appreciation for his actions. We were then talking about his business sector and I felt on safe ground to express my dismay at some of the sharp practices happening, feeling sure he wouldn’t be involved in these.
He though acknowledged he also engaged in them but just shrugged his shoulders and said with a charming smile “business is business!”
The expression “business is business” is used as shorthand for saying business is somehow separate and operates with a different set of rules. This, I think is a sleight of hand, an excuse we grant ourselves for actions we cannot justify otherwise – a kind of moral shield to protect us when we turn business practice towards selfish personal gain.
This though is only part of the picture and belies the enormous possibilities and even responsibilities that exist for businesses with their ability to transform personal lives and society in very positive ways.
Business is an organising principle
“Business” is not a “thing”. It is an organising principle given to a range of activities that take place in life which entail inputs and outputs. This is the case for commercial companies, governments, charities, not for profit, religions, families and so on.
A business is no more than an expression of the people that own, manage and work for it. There is nothing ever the matter with “business” that isn’t a reflection of those that foster its activities.
Some judge a business simply by its profit performance. But this narrow thinking is surely to impoverish not only most of its stakeholders but also the many ways in which businesses can be a force for good. The best aim of a business must be surely to fulfil a purpose that meets a need and when done well, make a profit.
David Packard, of Hewlett Packard once described business as: “A group of people who get together and exist as an institution that we call a company so they are able to accomplish something collectively that they could not separately, they make a contribution to society and produce something of value”.
Meaning and Purpose
As humans we are Meaning makers. Meaning is core to our lives and infuses our actions with purpose and inspires us to do what we do.
Energised by our purpose we evolve values, goals and create visions.
Leaders whose life and business purposes are in alignment report enhanced joy and fulfilment in life – which makes complete sense – because business is where we invest much of our energy. But when there is a mis-alignment the internal conflict this can generate within us will often lead to chronic stress, unhappiness and/or dis-ease.
Business in other words is not separate to life – it is an integral aspect of it.
Hosts of Society
A business is a host of Society. At its best, it can shape and enhance the society, enriching the lives of its citizens and establishing a mutually beneficial ecosystem. At its worst, a business can drain a society of energy, talent and wealth acting like a cancer with no respect or concern for its host.
Businesses are an essential and valuable aspect of society when their intrinsic values and interests are aligned with those of the society.
The question for us as leaders is how can our businesses create a mutually beneficial relationship that serves the company, society, humanity at large and the natural world as a whole. Without this approach societies will ultimately suffer, our businesses will, the natural world also and all who sail with them.
As leaders can identify and articulate the inspirational, “more than” vision of the company, that reaches beyond its own need to survive, make a profit and put food on the tables of its staff members, which can truly connect with all its stakeholders and inspire their full engagement because it serves also a higher purpose?
And if we seek to develop “disruptive” business models to gain super-extra benefits, should we not consider their impact on society if we are to consider ourselves acting for a greater good?
Business – a power for transformation
We can imagine business is a muscle of human endeavour that now has a unique opportunity, even a responsibility to act wisely for a greater purpose.
The business environment has the power to be personally transformational. It can also be a spark for affecting societal transformation as its operations impact on the wider stakeholders.
Many of us give most of the waking hours we have to our businesses – so to explore how we can do so meaningfully will surely have a tremendous impact on our personal ability to live meaningful lives, intelligently and purposefully.
Leadership
Resilient companies are founded upon enduring shared values that resonate with staff and society, and to deviate from these can quickly erode trust and bring about decline.
In his 2019 TED talk “The Dirty Secret of Capitalism” Nick Hanauer (link below) describes the economics that argues for enrichment of shareholders as a primary purpose … as the “gospel of selfishness” that has led in his words to the dangerous levels of inequality which now exist in many economies.
As leaders in this monumental era of human history is it not incumbent on us to ask ourselves; What is the greater purpose that we and our businesses serve? What is most meaningfully important and how can we balance the needs of the widest stakeholder community with those of shareholders?
CONCLUSION
In our hearts, we as leaders surely know what is of real value and if we’re paying attention to life, we can also feel when our actions and core values are not in alignment.
Meaningful solutions to humanities challenges, will surely only arise with an expanded perception, and understanding of a greater purpose than a simple profit motive.
As an arena in which we invest so much of our lives, perhaps we should not consider “Business as Business” but rather “Business as a vital part of a Fulfilled and Meaningful Life”.
We lead in a seminal age for humanity. What will be our legacy?
Greg Suart
Notes:
TED Talk: The Dirty Secret of Capitalism – a new way forward. Nick Hanauer (2019, 5.6m views) https://www.ted.com/talks/nick_hanauer_the_dirty_secret_of_capitalism_and_a_new_way_forward?subtitle=en
TED Talk: Beware, fellow plutocrats, the pitchforks are coming. Nick Hanauer (2014, 2.8m views)https://www.ted.com/search?q=pitchforks