Transforming Business Consciousness Through Mindset, Leadership and Decision-making
Contrasting Traditional with Regenerative Business Cultures
--
Executives and management with feet and mind anchored in traditional management beliefs and practices stand gazing directly at an increasing tsunami of pressure to adapt. On the traditional side, a limited decision-making consciousness dominates crafted by linear industrial business habits and outdated business school training. The traditional mindset comes with its ubiquitous set of beliefs and assumptions. On the business innovation and leadership side, now emerging with force, is the circular economy, self-managed governance, an energy revolution, technological innovation and a push for humans to contribute their full creative potential to something worth doing; worth achieving. In traversing the arc between present levels of consciousness and capacity to design with the flow of the emerging future exists a set of counter-intuitive contradictions that only a deeper dive into open-minded learning can put to good use.
To start, clarifying what is meant by consciousness and the current state of business consciousness will frame the here and now so that the leap from one state to another can be made to biosphere consciousness: where business regenerates depleted ecological systems and restores social inequities in an entirely redefined integral role of business.
Ervin Laszlo defines consciousness as the sum total of beliefs, assumptions, perceptions, worldview used to filter reality. Personal and organizational decision-making is based on what is perceived and how it is interpreted so consciousness directly impacts capacity to adapt, perceive accurately and respond appropriately
Work done by Richard Barrett[1] (values-based consciousness) presents the shifts in consciousness as a hierarchy of values from self at the bottom to service at the top. In essence, the shift demanded by business leaders at every level mirror that framework: moving through self-development toward being a leader in service of a purpose and visions much bigger than oneself. In fact, to achieve it requires the collective contribution of a diverse set of perspectives and a learned capacity to use adverse conditions to rise above through…
