The Inaugural Conceptualizing Conscious Capitalism Conference

Building on the resounding success of the first practitioner-centric conference called Catalyzing Conscious Capitalism® in Austin in November 2008, this May 2009 Bentley University gathering of thought leaders laid the intellectual and conceptual foundations of the field, and identified key research questions.

The term “conscious capitalism” reflects the fact that more people today are at higher levels of consciousness about themselves and the world around them than ever before. This is due in part to natural evolution, but also to the rapid aging of society, which has resulted in a higher proportion of people in mid-life and beyond, when consciousness is raised and higher-level needs predominate. The advent of the World Wide Web has accelerated this trend, simultaneously connecting hundreds of millions of people and placing great demands for transparency on companies.

Our definition of conscious capitalism has three key elements:

companies have a purpose that transcends profit maximization;
companies are managed for the benefit of all stakeholders in their ecosystem, not just shareholders; and
companies are led by spiritually evolved, self-effacing servant leaders.

Companies that practice conscious capitalism embody the idea that profit and prosperity go hand in hand with social justice and environmental stewardship. They operate with a systems view, recognizing and benefiting from the connectedness and interdependence of all stakeholders. They tap into deeper sources of positive energy and create greater value for all stakeholders. They utilize creative business models that are both transformational and inspirational, and can help solve the world’s many social and environmental problems.

Many progressive CEOs consider business schools to be part of the problem, in that they continue to inculcate a mindset in future business leaders that is highly adversarial in nature, puts profits ahead of any other nobler purpose, and treats shareholder interests as paramount and all other stakeholders as merely means to that end. Whether this is true or not, we strongly believe that business academics must be part of the solution. They must lead the way in conducting research on how best to align private business interests with larger societal concerns. They must educate students about how they can create and run businesses that operate on a higher plane of consciousness, which can see the essential interconnectedness across stakeholders, and which exist in order to serve a higher purpose that energizes, elevates and aligns all stakeholders.

Join us at the beginning of this exciting journey, as we set out to show how business can indeed be a noble pursuit, how it can exist comfortably and profitably on the right side of society, how it can embody qualities such as caring and love without being decimated by ruthless and single-minded competitors, and how it can spread healing and joy all around without exploitation of any kind.

“To be conscious means to be awake, mindful. To live consciously means to be open to perceiving the world around and within us, to understand our circumstances, and to decide how to respond to them in ways that honor our needs, values, and goals. A conscious business fosters peace and happiness in the individual, respect and solidarity in the community, and mission accomplishment in the organization.”
— Fred Kofman, Conscious Business

Business today needs a new paradigm because “business as usual” is just not working any more. Public distrust of business is at historic highs; many employees, customers and other stakeholders of businesses are disconnected from the companies they interact with.

At the same time that its reputation is deteriorating, the reach and impact of business in the world is growing. Business today has greater power than ever before to enhance or to diminish overall well being in society. As its power and influence grow, so too must its sense of responsibility and “stewardship”/ trusteeship.

The term “conscious capitalism” reflects the fact that more people today are at higher levels of consciousness about themselves and the world around them than ever before. This is due in part to natural evolution, but also to the rapid aging of society, which has resulted in a higher proportion of people in mid-life and beyond, when consciousness is elevated and higher-level needs predominate. The advent of the World Wide Web has accelerated this trend, simultaneously connecting hundreds of millions of people and placing great demands for transparency on companies.

Our definition of “conscious capitalism” has three key elements:

companies have a purpose that transcends profit maximization;
companies are managed for the benefit of all stakeholders in their ecosystem, not just shareholders; and
companies are led by spiritually evolved, self-effacing servant leaders.

CORE ELEMENTS OF A CONSCIOUS CAPITALIST PHILOSOPHY

Companies that practice “conscious capitalism” embody the idea that profit and prosperity go hand in hand with social justice and environmental stewardship. They operate with a systems view, recognizing and benefiting from the connectedness and interdependence of all stakeholders. They tap into deeper sources of positive energy and create greater value for all stakeholders. They utilize creative business models that are both transformational and inspirational, and can help solve the world’s many social and environmental problems.

Some of the characteristics of companies that practice conscious capitalism are:

They have a higher purpose than simply the maximization of profits or shareholder returns. The purpose addresses real and important needs of society and individuals; it is not about creating and exploiting short-term desires. A well thought out purpose energizes the enterprise and infuses it with passion and creativity.
They are managed for the benefit of all stakeholders. Company leaders seek to optimize the health of the overall “ecosystem,” recognizing the connectedness and interdependence of all stakeholders.
Beyond just achieving a better balance of emphasis across stakeholders, leaders strive to join and align the interests of each. Accomplishing this reconfigures business into a positive sum game, rather than the zero sum game that it is too often seen to be.
They do not engage in exploitation of any kind, e.g. taking advantage of some stakeholders to advance the interests of others or playing on people’s fears and addictions. They view each stakeholder’s well being as an end in itself, not just a means to better satisfy investors.
Society is seen as the ultimate stakeholder; companies view themselves as existing ultimately to advance the well being of society as a whole. They are motivated by a genuine desire to help solve large societal problems in partnership with governments, other companies and NGOs. They do not externalize costs on to society, even when it may be legally permissible to do so.
These companies treat the environment as a crucial though voiceless stakeholder. They take responsibility for their full environmental impact. At a minimum, their objective is to “do no harm” to the earth; ideally, they seek to have a net positive impact on the environment.
They approach the marketplace with a “whole pyramid” model that seeks to uplift rather than ignore (or worse, exploit) the poorer sections of society.
They hold a firm belief that doing the right things ultimately brings good results. Profit is seen as the natural outcome of doing the right things, not the single-minded focus of all company activities. Indeed, an overly strong profit orientation ultimately destroys the ability of a company to make profits. When the company states its objectives in profit-maximizing terms, it causes all stakeholders in turn to seek to maximize their own profits by giving as little as possible and taking as much as possible. The performance of the system rapidly deteriorates and profits soon evaporate.

THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2009

8:30 to 8:40 a.m.
WELCOME
Raj Sisodia
Bentley University

Ed Freeman
The Darden School

8:40 to 8:50 a.m.
WELCOME
Mike Page
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of Business, Bentley University

8:50 to 9:15 a.m.
OVERVIEW
Raj Sisodia
Bentley University: The Business Case for Conscious Capitalism

9:15 to 9:45 a.m.
KEYNOTE
Glen Urban
MIT: The Power of Trust

9:45 to 10:00 a.m.
BREAK

10:00 to 11:30 a.m.
DOING WELL AND DOING GOOD
Moderator:
Mike Page
Bentley University

Julie Nelson
University of Massachusetts: Economics for Humans
C.B. Bhattacharya
Boston University: The Triple Bottom Line: A Positive Sum Game
Mary Sully de Luque
Thunderbird: Unrequited Profit: Effects of CEO Decision-Making on Firm Performance

11:30 a.m. to noon
KEYNOTE
Roy Spence
CEO, GSD&M IdeaCity: The Power of Purpose

Noon to 1:00 p.m.
LUNCH

1:00 to 2:30 p.m.
ALIGNING STAKEHOLDERS
Moderator:
Pierre Berthon
Bentley University

Ed Freeman
The Darden School: Stakeholder Theory Today
Mary Jo Hatch
University of Virginia: Branding for a Better World
Nancy Koehn
Harvard Business School:
Creating Conscious Capitalism Then and Now: Founding Entrepreneurs and their Sense of Purpose

2:30 to 3:00 p.m.
KEYNOTE
Debashis Chatterjee
Indian Institute of Management: Timeless Leadership

3:00 to 3:30 p.m.
BREAK

3:30 to 5:00 p.m.
CONSCIOUS LEADERSHIP
Moderator:
Alan Hoffman
Bentley University

Jim Post
Boston University: Conscious Capitalism: Founders, Values, and Strategies
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld
Yale: The Boss as the Brand: Setting the Model at the Top
Joshua Margolis
Harvard Business School: Confronting “Necessary Evils”

5:00 to 5:30 p.m.
KEYNOTE
Mark Albion
Babson College: Reforming Business Education

5:30 to 7:00 p.m.
RECEPTION
Remarks by Gloria Larson, President, Bentley University

7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
DINNER WITH SPEAKER
Introduction by Michael Hoffman, Executive Director, Center for Business Ethics, Bentley University

Jag Sheth
Emory University: Making Capitalism Responsible: The Tripod Solution

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

8:30 to 8:45 a.m.
DAY 1 RECAP
Shubhro Sen
Bentley University

8:45 to 9:15 a.m.
KEYNOTE
John Mackey
CEO, Whole Foods: Why Conscious Capitalism is My Passion and Purpose

9:15 to 9:45 a.m.
KEYNOTE
Peter Senge
MIT: What Conscious Capitalism Means to Me

9:45 to 10:15 a.m.
A CONVERSATION BETWEEN JOHN MACKEY AND PETER SENGE

10:15 to 10:30 a.m.
BREAK

10:30 a.m. to noon
CONSCIOUS MARKETING, CONSCIOUS CONSUMERS
Moderator:
Bruce Weinberg
Bentley University

Craig Smith
INSEAD: Conscious Consumerism
David Wolfe
Wolfe Resources Group: Marketing in the 21st Century: From Hucksters to Healers

Noon to 1:00 p.m.
LUNCH

1:00 to 2:30 p.m.
BUSINESS AND SOCIETY
Moderator:
Tony Buono
Bentley University

Allen White
Tellus Institute: Reconstituting the Nexus of Finance and the Real Economy
Nirmal Sethia
Cal State: Responsible Business:Constructing the Core of Conscious Capitalism
Sandra Waddock
Boston College: SEE Change: Business Unusual

2:30 to 3:00 p.m.
BREAK

3:00 to 4:30 p.m.
SPIRITUALITY AND CONSCIOUS BUSINESS
Moderator:
Joe Weiss
Bentley University

Phil Mirvis
Boston College: Raising Corporate Consciousness
Prasad Kaipa
Indian School of Business: Spirituality in Management
Judi Neal
University of Arkansas: Faith and Spirituality in the Workplace

4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
CLOSING SESSION: THE WAY AHEAD FOR CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM
Moderator:
Shubhro Sen
Bentley University

Michael Strong
FLOW Inc.
Ed Freeman
The Darden School
Timothy Henry
Arete Management LL
Raj Sisodia
Bentley University

Open Mike

Alan Hoffman Bentley University	Allen White Tellus Institute	Anthony Buono Professor of Management and Sociology and Founding Coordinator of the Alliance for Ethics and Social Responsibility Bentley University	Bruce Weinberg Bentley University
C.B. Bhattacharya Boston University	Craig Smith INSEAD	Debashis Chatterjee Indian Institute of Management	Ed Freeman University of Virginia
Glen Urban Sloan School of Management, MIT	Jag Sheth Emory University	James Post Boston University	Jeffrey Sonnenfield Yale
John Mackey Whole Foods Market	Joseph Weiss Bentley University	Joshua Margolis Harvard Business School	Judi Neal University of Arkansas
Julie Nelson University of Massachusetts	Mark Albion	Mary Jo Hatch University of Virginia	Mary Sully de Luque Thunderbird
Michael Page Vice President Bentley University	Michael Strong FLOW	Nancy Koehn James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration Harvard Business School	Nirmal Sethia California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
Peter Senge MIT	Phil Mervis Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship	Prasad Kaipa	Raj Sisodia Bentley University
Roy Spence GSD&M Idea City	Sandra Waddock Boston College	Shubhro Sen Co-founder and Executive Director Conscious Capitalism Institute	Timothy Henry Arete Management LLC

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The Inaugural Conceptualizing Conscious Capitalism Conference