Remember the swirling concern around ushering in the new millennium? A bunch of us do because we feared it, thinking computers and even world markets might collapse. But it didn’t happen. We did however witness a few monkey wrenches in the corporate machine in the form of Tyco, Worldcom and Enron, not to mention the shakeup in the global markets. Now there’s talk of the impending changes associated with 2012. But what if 2012 portends not disaster, but instead a shift in consciousness? And one that impacts the way we work and do business.
Such a tone already exists. In Patricia Aburdene’s Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism, she writes:
“We the people have the power to transform capitalism. As investors, consumers and managers. And capitalism has the power to change the world.”
I’ve studied Aburdene’s work for many years and it influenced my belief that business can be one of the greatest agents of social change. That’s why “significance” or “meaningful work fueling right livelihood” have always been a part of my work life vernacular when I write about conscious vocation. The question is – how do we align our core human values – like compassion, integrity, intelligence, hard work and even love – with our business model and still be successful?
A conscious approach to work and business used to be the meat of esoteric dialogue, now it’s looked upon as an innovative approach to remaining profitable and socially responsible in a time of great transition. Aburdene has long been a great resource in this field and many others have emerged. Check out the Conscious Capitalism Institute and its C3 Summit.
Now as we get closer to 2012, and the alleged end of the world as we know it, we’ll be hearing from new voices on their perception of 2012 and the alleged shift. One such voice is William Gladstone, the author of The Twelve – who, in the spirit of full transparency – is also a colleague. In his novel he takes a gander at 2012 through the eyes of a character who discovers his own humanity. I spoke with him about his book and his thoughts on a more conscious approach to work and business in this weeks WorkLifeNation webisode.
