Enlightened beings do everything in a state of presence. These super-evolved souls say that this vastly improves the quality of their work, and they even speak of how being immersed completely in the present moment deepens their relationships to an unbelievable degree. They also relate that when they connect with the transformative energy that arises from stillness, inspired insights become their reward.
Souls blessed in this way very much enjoy being bathed in an energetic shower of revelatory bliss as they go within. But, can this way of living be used in running a business, or is that just too impractical? Let’s consider just what the five most important characteristics of an enlightened business are, and ponder whether they are eminently pragmatic.
Or, simply won’t work because they are overly idealistic.
1. Companies that embody the ideals of the emerging consciousness need to be good environmental stewards.
We are all part of the totality – every human being on the planet is connected to something much greater than themselves. Great companies recognize that no action is devoid of how it impacts the whole and that we as a species need to wake up and treat our mother the earth better.
Good environmental stewardship seeks to minimize the impact corporate practices have on the environment. And, practicing this can be quite beneficial for companies. For example, there are agencies that grant certifications to businesses that have demonstrated to have negligible impacts on the environment. This information is vital to consumers who are environmentally conscious when it is time for them to make buying decisions.
2. Companies who have a visionary outlook place a high value on employee contribution.
One way you can do this is by eliciting opinions from your workers on a regular basis by implementing an idea system. These systems contain built-in structures to ensure that your employees’ ideas are seen, and they are very good at getting every employee in your organization to contribute something. Really listen to your workers, value their contributions, and you create lots of good karma that even translates to better financial health for the company. This is the real power of the idea system.
With this system, good things happen in a never-ending procession, and this becomes what is known as a “virtuous circle.” Your employees are the ones who have the most knowledge of how your organization actually works, and their ideas about how things can be done differently matter. They will feel validated if you hear what they have to say. Even better, your employees will feel a sense of connection to your organization and its mission when you care enough to implement their ideas.
3. Flatten the organizational hierarchy when and where possible.
If employees have no roles, they are free to notice things beyond what their role used to be. Instead of heavily relying on a hierarchy, companies can eliminate this need for a corporate structure that creates unnecessary distance by setting aside the organizational flow chart momentarily to directly interacting with their employees.
In a flattened organizational structure, vertical ambition is replaced with ambition of the horizontal type. This is where, in the words of Jason Fried of 37signals, “employers who love what they do are encouraged to dig deeper, expand their knowledge, and become better at it.”
If you work hard in this company and you contribute greatly to its mission, you will be rewarded with the creative freedom to help the company become more of what it is meant to be, instead of greater managerial responsibility. For those working in enlightened companies, this is much more satisfying than a promotion.
Employees today too often feel disengaged.
This can be a result of too many organizational layers – workers feel sometimes feel hopelessly lost in a company that has a large and unwieldy hierarchy. In this sort of corporate arrangement, communications can become hopelessly bogged down, and creative expression gets stifled as a result.
Additionally, in an overly rigid hierarchy, innovation is strangulated because each idea has to endlessly travel up and down the food chain. The company then loses its ability to become responsive to the ever-changing realities of the business world. Employees feel more empowered in flatter organizations because this kind of company makes it easier for employees to make decisions on their own.
Creative partners within the organization who manage themselves have greater latitude to come up with out-of-the-box types of solutions to organizational challenges. This ability will put them way ahead of the curve. Every member of the corporate team needs to know how they fit into the bigger picture, and this is more likely to happen when the organization is not rigidly hierarchical but composed of semi-autonomous teams.
Flatter hierarchies often use project-management systems like Asana to replace email communications, and this gives team members a greater sense of connection. Project-management systems do a better job of getting people to focus on important tasks than email does. Thus, collaboration between individuals and teams become more streamlined and integrated. An enlightened business always makes sure that open communication doesn’t become a casualty in the battle to build its infrastructure.
4. Profit sharing programs are not only good for the employee, they are good for the company, and ultimately, good for society.
When these programs are in place, employees start to think like owners. Give them a percentage of the profits, even if it is small in the beginning. Profit-sharing shows the employee that the business owner is deeply invested in his happiness. It also incentivizes them to work harder, because they have a sense of ownership.
5. Enlightened businesses cultivate a sense of mission.
This means having a goal that is somewhat transcendent in nature, and that imbues every company goal with the power of purpose. Objectives based on a sense of mission are not about fattening up the company coffers and making the CEO rich, but they are about how the company can serve the needs of humanity, while at the same time also serving the needs of its customers.
In the world of the emerging consciousness, the companies that will make the most money are those that have objectives that transcends mere financial concerns. It is precisely these kinds of companies we need if we are going to survive as a species because corporations still operating under the old dysfunctional status quo will no longer be viable.
The earth is dying due to human shortsightedness. Much of this shortsightedness is possessed by companies that myopically pursue profit above all else, and don’t care about anything that interferes with this end. These kinds of companies aren’t what we need at this stage of our collective evolution. They are like voracious parasites, greedily sucking the vitality and life out of the earth.
Additionally, cultivating a sense of mission enhances employee life satisfaction. This goes way beyond happiness because when you experience life satisfaction, you are not merely happy, but profoundly fulfilled, and you know that what you are doing has deep meaning.
This is why businesses should clearly communicate exactly what the mission is to all who work for the company. This will also serve to increase employee enthusiasm because having a purpose is the gasoline that drives the engine of employee engagement.
Conclusion
A conscious company looks after the well-being of its employees and helps them flourish. There is a sense of community created within the organization when workers are highly valued, and this sense of community is a hallmark of an enlightened business. See your employee in their best and highest aspect, and you create more than mere employees.
Your attention to your employees has an almost magical effect, and when you do this, you give the universe an incredible gift: a transformed and awakened human being who will make things better for everyone. You have also demonstrated that you can see beyond blind adherence to the bottom line. You become responsible in the best way possible because you have created an environment where every employee is able to shine.
This is enlightened business practice, and this is what society and the world needs. Enlightened business leaders can have a transformative impact on the world, society, and even the history of our civilization. If we are to survive as a species, we need to get rid of the archaic and toxic paradigms that inflict horrendous damage to our planet and replace them with ones more visionary in nature.
Recent Comments