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INTRODUCTION By 1982, the Information Economy was up and running, but it was still a controversial idea. "Information?" some folks scoffed. "There can't possibly be any economic value in that." But by the 1990s, the Information Economy had blossomed into the age of high technology, now a trillion-dollar industry.
Today we are on the brink of another extraordinary revolution. The
Information Age is already over and an exciting new epoch is taking
its place. Remember, the key point is this: When wealth is derived
from It is often argued that the soul of a technology-driven economy is continuous innovation. No successful enterprise can pat itself on the back for last year's software, for example, then sit around until customers demand a better product. Corporations must lead the market by initiating change. But the same is true whether you're a tech firm, a consumer-products company or a public relations agency: Creativity and innovation are the name of the game. Medical tech device maker Medtronic, for example, invented pacemakers in 1957. Today, for each new product launched, the company is working on four generations of upgrades. That steady stream of innovation has translated into more than 20 percent a year in earnings growth for over a decade. How do corporations achieve the challenging but lucrative goal of continuous innovation? The short answer, the only answer, is through the genius inherent in human consciousness. In fact, there can be no invention in business or technology without human consciousness. What is consciousness? I use the term in the spiritual sense, to mean presence or alertness - the awareness of awareness, the willingness to observe without attachment, the gleam of Spirit that animates humanity. When an engineering whiz is patiently contemplating a complex problem, submerged for hours on end, he or she is living in the Now, dwelling in the realm of consciousness. Consciousness, the prime ingredient in creativity, represents a higher intelligence than the mind. When consciousness guides our mental facilities, the result can be brilliant. Technology is consciousness externalized. We've reached the point in economic history where human consciousness - the capacity for quiet, detached observation - is the raw material of innovation and, ultimately, of corporate money making. We will return to that point often in these pages. Consciousness is now as valuable to business as mundane assets like capital, energy or even technology. And the best way to cultivate consciousness is through techniques like meditation. As you will see in chapter six, that's exactly what many companies are up to. To those who claim high tech is dead and that computers have become replacement industry (like refrigerators), I would reply: One highly conscious individual can - and will - create the "killer app" (a software application that's so popular and universal, like word processing or email, that it drives hardware sales) that will launch a $100 billion industry. Welcome to the New Economy of Consciousness.
What is a megatrend? It is a large, over-arching direction that shapes our lives for a decade or more. Like the megatrends books I co-authored in the past: Megatrends 2000, Megatrends for Women (Villard, 1992), Re-inventing the Corporation (Warner, 1985) and Megatrends (Warner, 1982) on which I served as John Naisbitt's collaborator, this book is full of the facts, figures and vivid examples that quantify social change. But Megatrends 2010 takes it one step further - it depicts the internal dimension of change. Because the inner world of ideals and belief shapes our actions. Let me tell you what I mean. The search for morals and meaning at work, as well as the desire to experience the peace and purpose of the Sacred in the stressful world of business, are "inner" truths, alive in the hearts of millions of people. These internal realities profoundly influence people's behavior - like the choice to invest in a corporation that embraces higher social, environmental and ethical standards than its peers; the decision to work only for a company that honors your soulful, creative instincts; or the pledge to shop only at retailers who refuse to traffic in "sweatshop" labor. These inner truths are our values - and they play a crucial role in change. How does transformation happen? In Re-inventing the Corporation, John Naisbitt and I suggested a formula that I think is especially useful today. Social transformation, we wrote, "occurs only when there is a confluence of changing values and economic necessity." Most of us are well aware of the economic factors pressuring capitalism today, such as corporate scandals and the tech bubble. These forces drive change from the outside in, from the top down. Values-driven trends, like consumer action or spirituality in business, by contrast, prod change from the inside out or bottom up. In Megatrends 2010, you will discover that the synergy of changing values and economic necessity is transforming capitalism.
Turbulent Times As individuals, too, we live in a time of great uncertainty - the constant threat of terrorism, two recent wars, unemployment, fractured IRAs and lost savings. When we find little security outside ourselves, we are forced to look within to search the heart and soul for fresh answers and new directions. That's why "The Power of Spirituality," described in chapter one, is arguably the greatest megatrend of our era. Whether you call yourself spiritual or evangelical, green or new age, a die-hard capitalist or a soccer mom who shops with her values, you need to know the powerful trends that are already re-inventing free enterprise.
In Megatrends 2010, you will meet:
The stories of people driving social change bring the megatrends to life.
Megatrends 2010: The New List
In this book's conclusion, The Spiritual Transformation of Capitalism, we explore the underlying values of capitalism. I shall attempt to dispel what I believe is the absurd notion that free enterprise is rooted in greed. Conscious Capitalism isn't altruism, either; it relies instead on the wisdom of enlightened self-interest.
In a theological sense, you might say Spirit is analogous to the Holy Spirit, but in an ecumenical and nondenominational way. That brings up another distinction: the difference between spirituality and religion. I use the term religion to refer to the formal, and often public, structure through which people worship God. Spirituality is the experience of, or the desire to experience the Divine. Religion tends to be behavioral; spirituality, more experiential. Spirituality is often (but not always) a private matter. Some people, of course, are both spiritual and religious.
Money and Morals Study after study by prestigious outfits - you'll read all about them in chapter two, "The Dawn of Conscious Capitalism" - shows an important marker of success. The long-standing business myth of "lean and mean" threatens not just the morals but the prosperity of American business. I am not saying corporate responsibility causes financial success. But there is certainly a relationship. As you'll discover in chapter two, it is a simple one: Socially responsible corporations tend to be well managed, and great management is the best way to predict superior financial performance. In fact, if you want to invest in or work for a company that demonstrates high moral standards, it is relatively easy to identify many that also deliver excellent financial results. There are thousands of great companies, but let's start with 100. The "100 Best Corporate Citizens," published annually in Marjorie Kelly's quarterly report Business Ethics, are companies devoted to ethics, Earth and employees - yet, as one study discovered, they outperformed the S&P 500 by a stunning 10 percentile points. Then again, suppose you're a Conscious Consumer; you vote with your pocketbook - whether for fair trade coffee, solar panels or that new Honda Accord hybrid. Well, you're not alone. Most Americans weigh the moral impact of their purchases. An impressive 79 percent consider corporate citizenship in deciding whether to buy a product, says a Hill & Knowlton/Harris Poll, while 36 percent call it an important factor in a purchase decision. That 36 percent are your fellow Conscious Consumers. You'll read all about them in chapter five. In Megatrends 2010, you'll see why Conscious Consumers are a $250 billion dollar market that's changing free enterprise for the better.
As experts, authors and gurus often note, the game of business is to influence the external world. But here's the point: How can you control your environment if you can't even manage your own thoughts and emotions? In other words, how do you rule the world without first mastering yourself? The cornerstone of effective leadership is self-mastery. But that's exactly what's missing in business today. Lack of self-mastery is why so many business heroes wind up in court - if not the jailhouse. The fallen heroes of free enterprise who parade across our TV screens illustrate the irrational, self-destructive choices we make without the grounding, illuminating power of self-mastery. And the surest route to self-mastery is spiritual practice. Time spent in peaceful reflection or mindful meditation clarifies thought, sharpens intuition and curbs unhealthy instincts. Spirituality, it turns out, is a lot more practical than most of us ever thought. Am I saying a dedicated meditation practice would have helped people like former Tyco CEO Dennis Koslowski, former AIG chairman Hank Greenburg and many others? Yes. I certainly am. Worldly power without self-mastery is the downfall of leadership.
Why Now? In the midst of recession, corporations executed harsh measures to restore profit. But today, the layoffs are behind us. Hiring is finally picking up. Profits are back, mostly because of cost-cutting. Now business must again start to focus on growth. How do you grow a business? With people. You need a strategic plan, of course, but what good is that without the right people to execute it? People alone drive peak performance. Studies like McKinsey's much-quoted "War for Talent" show the best people are attracted to companies that fulfill the deep, personal need for meaning while making contributions to society - beyond the profit motive. That's exactly what the companies cited in Megatrends 2010 do. Moreover, this is the ideal point in the business cycle to invoke the power of consciousness, values and Spirit. The seeds of corporate transformation grow best when a high performance culture is already in place, says Michael Rennie, the top McKinsey honcho (and powerful corporate shaman) you'll meet in chapter six. In high performance cultures, meaning and morality deliver the elixir of superior productivity, but, says Rennie, "You actually have to create a performance ethic first." At this point in the business cycle, corporations have achieved that goal. The next step is to recognize the power of their human assets - people who are full of wisdom, consciousness and Spirit. The time is now and the task at hand is the moral transformation of capitalism - while growing prosperity. This book's message is simple and clear:
Isn't it time we got started?
Specifically, every four to six weeks Merten carved out a full day to meet with his eight senior managers and with coaches Amba Gale and Mickey Connelly. "We'd update Amba and Mickey on what had happened since we last met, then together ask, 'So, okay, what are we going to do about it?' We explored how to behave differently, find more productive choices, expand our influence and make a bigger difference. "It was the most concentrated learning environment I've ever known," says Merten, "because it focused on 'the conversation,' that is, how people operate with each other. In the face of differences, do we inquire? Do we try to understand each other and create value? Or do we need to be right and then defend, disagree, destroy - and waste the chance to generate positive results?" Armed with these conscious techniques, Merten led his group through several business doublings in a year and expanded operations from one to six sites. As Merten's spiritual insight blossomed, he learned to "Let go, forgive and suspend judgment," then applied these powerful truths at HP. "I quit competing and started thinking of the other person first." He "granted others 'good intentions' even in the face of contradictory evidence." How do spiritual principles like these impact corporate success? Put simply, Merten's enlightened business precepts changed how things got done internally and externally. They inspired people to trust themselves and others. As Merten's team grew in awareness and consciousness, they "gained access" to actions and options that were literally unavailable to them before. Merten says these breakthroughs, in his words, "contributed hundreds of millions in incremental dollars to HP's bottom line." How so? Merten offers this answer: "We put up our third site [after Singapore and Puerto Rico] near Dublin twice as fast as it had ever been done in HP history. The Irish contractors literally laughed at us when we told them our due date. How did we do it? Mickey Connelly helped us take the Irish contractors, the developers, the County Kildare officials and HP's own operations folks through the same protocols on relationship and conversation that we ourselves practice." The Dublin success alone, says Merten, "netted HP hundreds of millions. We needed the capacity that much." "You can create results from fear," Merten admits, "but I came to see that the greatest results come from a more positive place - community, relationship and conversation." Greg Merten retired from HP in 2003 and now consults on something he understands well: the art of outstanding leadership. Let's start with a simple assertion: business is transforming because people like Greg Merten and other top executives - as well as millions of "ordinary" managers, some of whom you'll meet in chapters three and four - work in corporations! As individuals grow in consciousness and Spirit, so do the organizations they inhabit. The problem is organizations take longer to change than people do. Why is institutional change more difficult? Because it is so complex. Not only does it require time, vision and leadership, it involves greater numbers of people, their commitment and the development of a shared purpose. Institutional transformation relies on human evolution, grows slowly, then finally hits the mark. In the years that it takes for all these positive ingredients and uplifting circumstances to catalyze, the people inside companies can grow so discouraged, they fall victim to the lie that "business as usual" would have us believe: the idea that there's an impenetrable barrier between personal spirituality and corporate transformation, between Spirit and business. The purpose of this first chapter is to dissolve that firewall.
That is not going to happen. Because business does not possess the power to prevent people from transforming. Yet there's little wonder why we think it does! The business world often portrayed on CNBC and in The Wall Street Journal boasts, not just a single-minded passion for turning a buck, but unmatched devotion to assassinating any high-minded ideal that might get in the way. Well, guess what? Mainstream business is under siege, from activists and regulators, as expected, but even from investors. And all the barricades in the world cannot defend it. Because the most dangerous adversary of all - a transformed individual - lies within and we are IT. Whether spiritual CEO, activist middle manager or visionary entrepreneur, we've opened our minds and expanded our hearts and there is no shutting either of them down. So much so that as I edit this chapter in early 2005, both CNBC and The Wall Street Journal have just run stories on spirituality or faith in business. Conscious individuals transform organizations. Period. Consider:
You'll meet these inspiring leaders in this book's first two chapters as we begin to explore seven new megatrends accelerating the transformation of free enterprise and the birth of Conscious Capitalism as mainstream business culture. We start with some off-the-charts numbers on personal spirituality, then look at how Spirit is already starting to transform the bellwether sector of medicine. Later we'll delve into case studies of CEOs and other top execs whose spiritual journeys are re-inventing their careers and their companies. Spirituality: from personal to organizational. That's this chapter's theme. Put differently, personal "growth" is about to get a lot less "personal." It is about to spill into - and transform - the collective.
Before diving into some illustrative facts and figures, I should like to raise the larger, more substantive question: What does it mean to be "spiritual"? Or to want more Spirit in your life? Admittedly, it isn't easy to define: Spirit is intangible, after all. Few of us will agree on the exact definition of spirituality. But it begins, of course, with the desire to connect with God, the Divine, the Transcendent. That said, let me throw out the five hallmarks that I think cover most of the spiritual bases:
Many of the things we might call spiritual - inner peace, meditation, wellness, prayer, loving relationships, life purpose, mission, giving to others - fall under one of these headings. I may have missed one of your favorites, but I think you'll agree that all these words have one thing in common: Each and every one of them is sourced in and emphasizes the immaterial. We may live out our spiritual inclinations here in the material world, experiencing compassion for a friend - or well being in our bodies - but the source of our inspiration is the invisible realm of Spirit. The earthly treasures we all love and enjoy here in the mundane grid of reality - money, hot jobs, gorgeous clothes, a wonderful mate, an Ivy League diploma and a beautiful home - are missing from the "spiritual" list. Spirituality means you thirst for something else. For the peace, wholeness and fulfillment that, as Grandma would say, "money can't buy." Perhaps you seek also to know the Source from which all else, both material and intangible, flows. Well, you've got a lot of company.
Spirituality is "Off The Charts" Sixty percent of Americans say they have absolute trust in God. But wait a minute. Haven't Americans always been a religious lot? Maybe so, but in the past decade, the number who call themselves "spiritual" is decisively higher. In 1994, the Gallup people asked Americans whether they felt the need to experience spiritual growth. Only 20 percent said "yes." In 1999, they asked again - and a surprising 78 percent answered in the affirmative. An astounding 58 percentage point gain in five years. But that was only in 1999. Remember how simple and secure our lives were then? Before terrorism, the market crash, war and corporate scandals. People tend to turn to Spirit in times of stress, trouble and sorrow. In 1999 technology was still riding high; unemployment was low and no one was overly troubled by Enron, Osama or Saddam. Since September 11, 2001, however, 57 percent say they think more about their spiritual lives, reports aTime/CNN/Harris Interactive poll. It is hardly a stretch to conclude that war, recession, layoffs and financial losses since 2001 have strengthened the ranks of spiritual seekers.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Copyright:
New Earth Publications, 1999-2009. PlanetLightworker.com is published
by New Earth Publications, | |||||||||
a new source - say, information rather than industry - a
new economic era is born. In time, people's jobs reflect that
new activity. That said, consider the following:
Charting the "Inner" Dimensions of Change
People Behind the Megatrends
