How Being Conscious Can Change the World: Conscious Capitalism Update

In the course of my journey, I have always been fascinated with the concept that when you do something with love, your efforts will always be rewarded and recognized. I have always known this in theory but it is far more impressive when you have a first hand experience.

On June 2nd, I published a post entitled Conscious Capitalism which was about a new philosophy in business that recognizes the importance of being conscious while earning a profit. In that post, I specifically mentioned John Mackey of Whole Foods Markets. That post received many wonderful comments and to my surprise, Jeff Klein, Executive Director and Chief Activation Officer for FLOW, left a comment.

FLOW is the organization founded by John Mackey and Michael Strong which, according to their mission statement, is “dedicated to liberating the entrepreneurial spirit for good and focusing it on creating sustainable peace, prosperity, and happiness for all, in our lifetime”.

In his comment, Jeff suggested that in order to learn more about Conscious Capitalism, I should listen to Passion and Purpose and read Be the Solution. I emailed him to thank him for leaving a comment and asked if I could interview him. He kindly agreed.

One thing that I have learned in my years of being a writer is that whenever you interview someone, you should be as prepared as possible. So I followed Jeff’s suggestion and purchased the two items he mentioned before arranging the interview.

Passion and Purpose

The first item, Passion and Purpose is a double CD set of a lecture that John Mackey gave concerning Conscious Capitalism®. For those of you who do not know much about John, he opened a small supermarket called Whole Foods in 1980. It was a small store in Austin, Texas which was geared towards serving only healthy foods. Now Whole Foods has locations all over the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. In 2008, they had eight billion dollars worth in sales.

John did not know much about business prior to starting Whole Foods so he learned on the job. Eventually, he came to see that the purpose of a business has to evolve in conjunction with the others who are involved in the business. He came to see that in order to have a great company, the company has to have a great purpose and the purpose does not just mean profits. It also means helping to make the world better. Whole Foods, in 2007, gave away $14 million to charity.

One of the many highlights of Passion and Purpose is John’s belief that by having a business model based in conscious capitalism, we can help eradicate poverty. One of the organizations that John works with is Grameen Bank run by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. Grameen Bank, according to John, is a perfect example of “liberating the entrepreneurial spirit for good” since it gives microloans to women who create their own businesses and get out of poverty.

Be the Solution

As someone who is a loyal shopper at Whole Foods, I was thrilled to know that I shop at a place which is run by a person who shares my belief that we all can help make the world a better place. However, my love and belief in Conscious Capitalism became even stronger when I read Be the Solution.

Here is the opening paragraph of the first chapter:

“Among the first teachings of the Buddha is the understanding that ‘mind is the forerunner of all things.’ If we believe it is impossible to make the world a better place, we will create a self-fulfilling prophecy. If we believe we can make a difference and set about doing so with a clear-eyed vision, passionate focus, persistence, and courage, then we can achieve extraordinary things.”

 

 

The whole book is a collection of essays by people who are running businesses based on the theory of Conscious Capitalism and it is a wonderful book which should be used in business schools around the world. Here is another passage from the book which I loved:

“FLOW proposes instead that those who desire to make the world a better place engage in lives of constructive action and meaningful work so that we can achieve those goals that have so long eluded us. If everyone who desires to make the world a better place takes positive action, instead of continuing on a path of impotent rage and frustration, we can quickly create sustainable peace, prosperity, and happiness for all.”

When I was finished reading the book, I contacted Jeff and interviewed him about FLOW. Jeff has been a part of FLOW for about three and a half years.

Learning More About FLOW

Here is a brief description of his biography from the FLOW website: He has worked in marketing, business development, and general management in the music, natural products, and fitness industries, building companies and talent including Private Music, Yanni, Seeds of Change, Spinning, and ChiRunning. He has consulted to and designed programs for The Esalen Institute, The National Geographic Society, GlobalGiving, the Institute of Noetic Sciences, and Peace Cereal (a brand of Golden Temple of Oregon). He also has his own marketing business called Cause Alliance Marketing.

FLOW was founded by John Mackey and Michael Strong who were introduced to each other by a mutual friend. Both men discovered that they shared similar beliefs and they both cared deeply about the environment and want to help make the world a better place via entrepreneurship. They created FLOW to help promote the concept that a person can be in business and yet still be conscious.

FLOW has been working on a variety of projects that are focused on three areas: Conscious Capitalism®, Peace Through Commerce® and Accelerating Women Entrepreneurs™. In my discussion with Jeff, we focused mainly on conscious capitalism.

Conscious Capitalism is comprised of three factors:

1. Purpose

2. Creating Value for all Stakeholders

3. Greater Kind of Leadership

Purpose is focused on the idea that a business has to bring value to the world. The purpose of a business is more than just a return of an investment and value to shareholders.

One aspect of purpose is passion. A person should be passionate about the work that they do. As Jeff told me, “it is like a fire that has been lit, it sustains you”.

Purpose also ties in with creating value. It is important that any business, regardless of the kind, provide value to the world.

Most businesses are run with the idea of keeping the shareholders happy. However, in a Conscious Capitalism model, the idea of stakeholder is what is considered important. A shareholder is someone who has invested in shares of a business. A stakeholder is a group that has a stake in the business. Stakeholder groups include customers, employees, vendors, investors, community in which the business is located, media and regulatory agencies. For a perfect example of this concept, click here to see the Whole Foods Stakeholder Model.

Both purpose and creating value for stakeholders are then brought to fruition when it comes to the point of having a greater kind of leadership. Leadership reflects a commitment to pursue the purpose of the business in conjunction with providing value to the stakeholders. A leader, under a Conscious Business methodology, is not focused on himself/herself but rather on fulfilling the purpose, creating value for the stakeholders, and bringing out the best out of everybody so that everybody benefits.

One of the many reasons why I wanted to interview Jeff was to help promote the concept of Conscious Business because, in light of the current financial situation, more people want to see businesses that are focused not only on making money but being aware of their actions.

Like anything in life, the best way for a concept to take hold, is by people voicing their desire to see more businesses that are invested in the community and not just in profits. This leads to the question of how to do that?

Jeff suggested that if people want to get involved with FLOW, they should learn more about Conscious Business and spread that knowledge by sharing it with others and joining one of the FLOW Activation Circles which are being developed in some locations in the United States. Most importantly, the best way to help spread the concept of Conscious Business is to start your own business that provides a great value to the world and has a purpose that resonates with you.

Here are some resources so that you can learn more about FLOW, Conscious Capitalism and Jeff Klein:  www.flowidealism.org, www.causealliancemarketing.com, and www.workingforgood.com .

Also, please note that in September, Jeff’s first book, Working for Good: Making a Difference, While Making a Living will be published. The book is about combining business and spirituality. I will be sure to let you all know when it is available.

Special thanks to Jeff Klein for taking the time to talk to me and for being interested in my blog.

Note: To read more about the reasons behind my new schedule change, click here.

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