Wisdom cultures speak of polarities as the dance of the universe through which it becomes aware of itself, expands and enjoys itself. Psychologists talk about the light and the shadow parts of our psyches. So how does our current global economic situation fit into this universal concept of opposite polarities?
We are not short of examples for “the bad” and “the ugly”. Enron, Lehmann Brothers, the Volkswagen scandal and the entire fossil fuel industry come to mind immediately. And there are countless other cases which fit into this category.
Last weekend, I attended the European Conscious Capitalism conference in Berlin. On the first day of this conference, Raj Sisodia presented his brand-new book “The Healing Organization”. Raj is the co-founder of Conscious Capitalism and has been working in this area for the past 15 years. Over time he built a network of strong like-minded leaders which includes the likes of spiritual teacher Deepak Chopra, global activist Lynne Twist and Whole Foods Market-CEO John Mackey. I was deeply impressed by Sisodia’s presence, his clarity and the many inspiring examples of healing organizations which he presented promoting the values of love, decency and union consciousness.
From the start of human business activity back in the early barter trade epoch until today egocentricity and maximization have been the prevailing forces in business. Adam Smith, the philosophical father of capitalism, then officially postulated in his famous work “The wealth of nations” that the purpose of business is profit maximization while invisible hand processes will lead to greater wealth and wellbeing for the entire society. However, in case these invisible hand processes have ever existed they have not worked out so well. Otherwise, we would not face a global environmental and social crisis. Or in other words, the dominance of the above mentioned toxic male energies in business has caused devastation and separation on planet Earth. Lynne Twist talks about the bird of humanity. She explains how the male wing is over-proportionally developed whereas the growth of the female wing has been suppressed. This out-of-whack wing proportion is what causes the chaotic flight pattern of humanity which we are all experiencing today. And we better watch out because we will be nosediving before too long if we do not course-correct immediately. According to Lynne, now is the time that the male wing relaxes so that the female wing can unfold, grow and gain strength in order for the bird of humanity to soar to unprecedented heights.
In conclusion, polarities are a given in the universe and the business world we live in. Equilibrium however is a deliberate choice we can establish as intelligent beings. Courageous and awakened business leaders embody a new leadership paradigm and can restore the social and environmental equilibrium by building healing organizations.
Step forward conscious business leaders! Your time is now.