“There’s a spiritual aspect to business, just as there is to the lives of individuals. You give, you receive; you help others, you’re helped in return.” – Jerry Greenfield (of Ben & Jerry’s Fame)
I think that Ben was on to something. I have been thinking about where “sustainable” businesses are headed, the fact that the terms “sustainable” and “green” have become little more than buzzwords. I think that we may see an increase in discussion about the spiritual side of business when discussing this new way of operating that puts people and the environment above (or at least on equal footing with) the purely financial bottom line. It almost looks to be a natural progression.
We certainly do not readily and openly talk about spirituality in the biz world, just as we do not usually readily and openly talk about it in society at large. We definitely use terminology and principles that are similar to spiritual principles when we discuss business, but we don’t overtly talk about the spiritual side of business. I think that this is about to change. To be sure, religion is, and will continue to be, a hot-button topic that most don’t willingly discuss. But spiritual practice is not as difficult to discuss – even in groups of people that practice vastly different versions of a spiritual life, there is an ability to seek common ground and identify similarities rather than differences.
Just to be clear, in this discussion, I am not talking about personal spirituality specifically. I am talking about the business itself, the collection of values, purpose, impact, and meaning that emerges from the organization, and, when taken collectively, forms a single entity. I do believe that the personal spirituality of the people that are a part of the organization are a part of this emergent entity, but I am looking to investigate how businesses themselves, as individuals, may have an inherent spiritual side. Infusing spirituality could even lead to greater profits! Ben & Jerry thought that it did. We have seen that operating entirely on greed may be great for quarterly profits, but is not sustainable over the long term. Also, I am glad to have finally found an instance that I can use the government’s view of “corporation = individual” in a way that is productive. I didn’t see that coming!
I believe that we are seeing an integration of spiritual principles in businesses that are concerned with the “Triple Bottom Line” of People, Planet, and Profit. As these “TBL” business practices have become more widely accepted as smart business, rather than the practices of a fringe element of hippies trying to save the world, so might we see an increase in the amount of discussion, and integration, of spiritual principles in business.
These are just a few of the common threads that I see between spiritual practice and a new way of doing business:
- Connecting individuals to something bigger
- Coincidences that have meaning
- Karma
- Lightbulb moments of enlightenment
- Giving it away to keep it
- Abundance
- Repetition & Ritual
- Symbolism
- Celebration
- Enthusiasm
- Nurturing those around you
- Peaks & Valleys
- Using values to guide decision-making
- The moral compass
- Crucible moments
- Perseverance to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds
- Kindness
- Intuition
I plan on investigating this link in the next series of blog posts I write, and most likely will be explaining my thoughts on the above list, and exploring how these spiritual principles could be applied and have an impact. Beginning to talk about these principles more openly in could lead to some powerful insights about how you run your business and connect with your customers.
What have I missed in this list? What do you think about the “spiritual side” of business?