The greatest business innovation…

… is simply doing good business.

Since the time of the Phoenicians, commerce has united the world. Today no corner of the world remains untouched by global industry, and with it capitalism has spawned a complex web of interdependence. Brands like Coca-Cola are found in places as far flung as Moscow, Monrovia and Michigan. However traditional business has created environments where higher values are surrendered to the absolute pursuit of profit. This has seen an unchecked growth of greed within business with the pursuit of wealth and power above all else.

In a world where the likes of Jack Welch and Michael Eisner were exalted as icons of leadership, industry has been driven by a winner takes all mentality. In this mindset, leadership is dictated by the ability to create business and material success regardless of the effect that it has on people, communities or the environments those businesses operate in.

The result has seen big business responsible for large scale environmental degradation, the erosion of community trade and local economies, extreme degrees of exploitation, and the greed scandals which brought the world the likes of Enron, Worldcom and Brett Kebble.

Rampant greed has been the biggest failing of business, driving down credibility and trust, and at times bringing its very own destruction. The biggest take out from the massive business failures we have seen of late is that doing business on greed is not sustainable.

“The rush to capture more market share, propelled by the profit motive, has caused untold damage to this planet and its people… The momentum of the corporate juggernaut is so powerful — fueled by the most basic human survival and status needs — that altering its course seems almost impossible. We are not just marching toward disaster, says noted business consultant and author Ichak Adizes, we are sprinting toward it.”

In The Business of Saving the World by Elizabeth Debold, WIE Magazine:

The good news is that the collapse of empires built on greed and an intense spotlight on global corporations like Shell, McDonalds and Nike, has brought a strong trend toward ethical consumerism and the need for business to realize a different bottom line.

This has seen the introduction of:

Servant leadership and authentic leadership: The “kingly” leadership type rule of the likes of GE’s Jack Welch and Disney’s Michael Eisner is out. The new leadership acknowledges that the highest good of any business is its ability to serve its customers, staff and humanity; that integral and authentic business leadership builds lasting and sustained value; that better business means creating a better world.

The Human Economy: Business is waking up to the realisation that corporations are homes of humanity that are interdependent and interrelate with human societies. In this connected understanding business without higher value is not sustainable. The human economy demands that sound economies require an investment in the social, environmental and human issues that drive those market environments.

Social capitalism: There is a rise of a new model of business termed “social capitalism” where the profits in that business are derived from contributing toward the greater good, or where some or all profits from the business are ploughed back into the social and environmental development and upliftment.

What this means for business leadership is the creation of a new paradigm of leadership that is based on mixing the greater good with a more ethical and authentic style of leadership. It demands a more emotionally and spiritually mature leader who is able to surrender to a personal evolution for the sake of a business evolution.

“Even when there is a massive collective that needs to change, it begins with one person who truly cares. Because he or she cares, that person is nominated, called to a higher purpose. This is what’s such an important message: that person has got to make him- or herself available for this. Then magical things can happen. And that’s the whole essence of this process — to become available to be a vehicle for that purpose.” — Joseph Jaworski, founder of Generon Consulting, author, lawyer, and successful entrepreneur. Jaworski was deeply compelled by spiritual leader Dadi Janki to give everything he possibly could to making a difference.

“I don’t want to live a life creating an illusion of meaningfulness while deep in my heart I know that every five seconds there is a child dying. None of us can pretend anymore. We cannot.”
— Tex Gunning, president of Unilever Bestfoods Asia.

In the future, the greatest innovation a business could enable will simply be doing good business. And business will not solely be judged by an ability to produce greater profits. Good leaders and innovators will not be those who drive market leadership at all cost. They will surrender self interest to a common interest in the understanding that all of humanity is connected and that sustainability is about service and contribution. That innovation and good business is all about the common good.