By Elizabeth Herman ┃Posted: August 03, 2018
“How does it feel to come to work? What’s the atmosphere like? Do I feel safe? Do I feel joy? Do I feel trusted? Do I feel fearful?” The answers to these and other questions make up a standard for conscious culture in the workplace, a necessary pillar that Raj Sisodia says businesses will rely upon for real success in the future.
He also offers a different criterion for business executives, who largely determine the culture within which all stakeholders in an enterprise operate: “We cannot have leaders who use other people to achieve their objectives. The most important thing is for leaders to work on their growth and development as human beings. You cannot be a conscious leader without being a conscious human being.”
A founder and leader of the fast-growing global Conscious Capitalism movement, Raj Sisodia shares a new and a novel way to approach business in the 21st century. He’s joined by Sharleen Ernster, founder of Hot as Hell, and Erik Oberholtzer, founder of Tender Greens, to discuss the benefits that can be derived when organizations put people first and are truly committed to the greater good.
Quotes from the podcast:
Here is one question Michael Fischman asks in the podcast: “If conscious companies give more, will they actually get more in return? Well, for well-known brands like Whole Foods, The Container Store, and Starbucks, who have implemented many of these principles, the answer is definitely yes, but for new start-ups, or smaller businesses, does it really pay to care?”
Sharleen Ernster is the former chief design officer for Victoria’s Secret, and launched her own fashion brand in 2014. She says, “It would make me the happiest if we would start to change the fashion industry. I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but it’s the number 2 most wasteful industry in the world, second only to oil.
If I could, I would be the catalyst that changes this industry to start adopting processes like digital printing and sublimation printing, and processes which offer higher quality, lower fabric waste, no water wastage, and better design capabilities. It’s a no-brainer! it costs more, but if big industries took it on, it would no longer cost more.
So, it’s my dream that they start doing this, and that they start running factories that care about their people. The factories that I work with all have special programs with unbelievable benefits for the people working in their factories, whether it’s feeding them 2 or 3 meals a day, beautiful meals on campus, giving them living arrangements, giving them transportation, giving them fair maternity leaves. These things are not common, and they should be. They should be the price of entry, and that’s my goal.”
Erik Oberholtzer and 2 partners in 2006 opened Tender Greens, a growing restaurant chain that combines a fine dining point of view with conscious, fresh, healthy dishes at an affordable price. He says, “Our sourcing choices are thoughtful, not just in terms of availability in price and flavor, but also soil health, water health. There’s a holistic view of the health of the farm network that is not just about the ingredients and the soil, but also the work conditions, the logistics, the carbon footprint, efficiency so there’s not so much food waste, partnership with the supply chain, so that we’re truly connected to the farmers.”
“Can capitalism actually change and elevate humanity?” Fischman asks in his conclusion to this podcast. “Business leaders no longer have to choose between consciousness and capitalism, between social, moral business standards and self-interest, greed, and corruption. Although still on the cusp, the principles of conscious capitalism will eventually be one of the defining mechanisms for profit, advancement and success in the future.”
Links
You can find this podcast, “Elevating Humanity through Business,” at the Back to the Source Radio website. You can also download it from iTunes and Google Play.
By Elizabeth Herman - PhD in English, with concentrations in Rhetoric and Composition, and Literature, she offers writing support to clients, teaches locally, and lives in Boone, NC. With a longtime keen interest in Yoga and Ayurveda, she recently completed a 200-hour yoga teacher training with Sri Sri School of Yoga.
