Why Spirituality Matters in Business

I’m not some Jesus freak fanatic, nor am I proselytizing to you. I am agnostic and couldn’t care less what G-d you pray to. What I’m talking about here is the “essence” of a good heart what I believe we as human beings were born with, granted, and divinely endowed with. I challenge the conventional narrative (notice I didn’t call it “wisdom” because I think the current or conventional wisdom is absolutely dumbdom, the very opposite of what it means to be wise). Our world or at least a large portion of it today feeds off fear, avarice, greed, doubt, depression, sorrow and negativity. The media who take little to no responsibility for the continual feed of this warped sense of humanity have much to answer for because millions of people swallow what they hear, read and see.

Yet millions of others do not! The others may be living in an entirely different paradigm. Follow me a minute. If we go with the theory that we were born good, as divine spirits in the image of the Creator (whoever, whatever, however, you view it), then wouldn’t it behoove us to just embody that which is inherently ours? It feels like a no-brainer yet what we’ve learned, witnessed, and experienced is far from that ideal, much of our waking lives. We encounter treachery almost every step of the way in life, business and love. We even have expressions to reinforce the negative norms: no pain no gain etc. Pop stars sing about horrible relationships, business partners are in litigation and most of the large corporations have usurped government to control, manipulate and suppress the citizens of the world.

Outside of sleep, most of our waking lives are spent working (perhaps that has shifted slightly during the pandemic but for arguments sake let’s assume we spend most of our waking hours working). What if we applied a new paradigm of goodness towards our working lives? I mean, how can we honestly separate our private from our business lives if we are to be authentic? Unless we are conscious Janus’ we don’t. We hide. We pretend. We put on a business-like face and attitude. But that is disingenuous. It ain’t real till the fat lady sings. So let’s start singing loud and clear into the day into the night. Our voices must be heard and we need to listen first to hear them.You wouldn’t cut off your ears to hear would you?

So why do we shove our greatness, our good hearts down to the bottom of some dark funnel where it is no longer recognizable nor accessible? Why must we compete to the death in the corporate world at someone else’s expense? Out of habit! Out of laziness! Out of “tradition”! Out of excuses not to change the tape loops in our minds! No need for me to expound further. You get it.

What if dignity, fairness, honor, truth seeking, justice and comraderie were the attributes and attitudes of every corporate team member from the founder on round (not down, hierarchy is DEAD) to the very last link in the chain? Let’s imagine how a business could be with a spiritually aware approach.

1. Dignity: Team members would earn more than a living wage. They would be able to feel dignified because they could afford lodging, food and healthcare for themselves and their families. They wouldn’t have to work a second let alone a third job. Companies would pay for childcare expenses, four weeks holiday (the norm in Europe), and pregnancy leave for mom and dad.
2. Fairness: Equal pay for all genders is fairness 101. In addition, every team member would be eligible to receive a percentage of the shares of the company in addition to their wages. Chobani is a good example. Companies would respect Mother Earth, the planet even corporate executives inhabit, by reducing their industrial and carbon footprints by at least 75% over the next ten years. They would enact B corporate policies. Founders, shareholders and C-Level executives payouts would be based on joint decision making from the team and entire pipeline: unions, suppliers, vendors, service providers. Sound crazy? It’s done in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and in many European countries to minimize conflict and maximize engagement.
3. Courage: Replace competition with its emphasis on killing, smashing, devouring, eliminating etc. others who are also trying to earn a living, with courage. Have the courage to withstand market changes, ups and downs, fears, doubts, insecurity by implementing unshakable beliefs in yourself, your contribution and in one another. Does that sound farfetched? Not at all. Look at the best relationships in life between friends, partners, lovers, parents and children. They encourage the best in one another and stand by as pillars of courage when times are tough.
4. Devotion: The moment you think victory is yours alone, you tarnish the purpose and cause of the victory. To the winner go the spoils is an example of negative, me, me, me thinking. Throw that out the window. If it weren’t for you ALL there would or could not be a victory. The Chinese symbol for person is of two lines holding each other up. If one falls so does the other one. That’s how it is in life. We need one another for support. When everyone supports good intentions, victory is theirs.

The future is ours to create. The spirit of business is changing and we are its sole architects.