Conscious Business: Social Responsibility, Institutional Innovation and Missions that Matter

Esteemed management philosopher, and author of over 15 books on management, Henry Mintzberg explores with us the paradoxes of management and the many ways to model a business.
He continues his discussion with us on the importance of more conscious business practices. The discussion ranges from the effectiveness (and limitations) of cooperative run organization, to the implications of having a country where things are leaning far too heavily toward the economic sector. Listen in to hear the full discussion in this 2nd part of a two-part series.

Henry Mintzberg, internationally renowned academic and author on business and management, joins us this week to discuss his insights into the conscious business movement. Find out why the conception that managers "plan, organize, coordinate, & control" isn't accurate, why innovation can't be institutionalized, and why efficiency can't sometimes kill creativity. Also listen in to hear Henry's perspective on what a balanced society, which has gone beyond Marx and Smith, might look like, as well as how socially responsible businesses play a part in this vision.
This is part 1 of two-part series. Listen to part 2, A Tool is Something you Use in Place of a Brain (airing next week).
Resources:
- Henry Mintzberg
- The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning by Henry Mintzberg
- Managers Not MBAs: A Hard Look at the Soft Practice of Managing and Management Development by Henry Mintzberg
- The Psychology of Consciousness by Robert E. Ornstein
- Coaching Ourselves
- "Developing Theory about the Development of Theory" [pdf] by Henry Mintzberg

How does business need to change to meet the growing complexity of the modern, global world? And what does development have to do with it? This week we continue our conversation with the author of Spiral Dynamics, Dr. Don Beck, and discuss the emergence of a more complex way of doing business. Topics we discussed included: issues of distributed leadership, the monitoring of vital signs, the significance of complimentary teams, and the growing importance of mutual trust and respect in business.
Don also discusses his relationship to Ken Wilber and his organization, the Integral Institute, as a way to highlight the difference between having high ideals (and wanting to grow) and the ability to actualize those ideals in a business environment.
This is part 2 of two-part series. Listen to part 1, Spiral Dynamics: A Theory about Making Theories.
Resources:
- Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change
- Spiral Dynamics Integral by Don Beck and Christopher Cowan
- Global Values Network
- Corporate Lifecycles: How and Why Corporations Grow and Die and What to Do About It by Ichak Adizes

Don Beck joins us to discuss a revolutionary model of human and cultural development called Spiral Dynamics. Originally developed by Professor Claire Graves, Spiral Dynamics is a theory that intends to make sense of the way that people respond and grow in the face of life conditions. Don Beck has been applying this model to a multitude of arenas, especially in business and culture. His most recent work in Israel, with Palestinian leaders, to help alleviate the conflict between the two groups is a perfect example of the way that Spiral Dynamics is being applied.
Also of interest is his work with companies like Southwest Airlines and Wholefoods. Listen in to hear how these companies have managed to apply the insight from Spiral Dynamics into the work place, helping create workplaces with more distributed intelligence (as in the case of Wholefoods) as well flight attendants who are also millionaires (in the cast of Southwest). Also hear about Don's five extra bottom lines (on top of the normal triple bottom-line model).
This is part 1 of two-part series. Listen to part 2, We Need Leadership Not Just Heroic Leaders.
Resources:
- Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change by Don Beck & Christopher Cowan
- Spiral Dynamics Integral
- Global Values Network
- Whole Foods
- Southwest Airlines

Find out why transformative value and the quality of grooviness in the workplace are non-negotiables at Sounds True—a multimedia publishing company. Also listen in as Tami Simon, the founder of Sounds True, discusses the importance having a collaborative workplace tempered with strong leadership, and of choosing products that have both transformative potential and saleability. These general business practices apply to all kinds of businesses where multiple bottom lines are in effect, and where financial gain takes a backseat (at times) to making a meaningful contribution to the world.
This is part 2 of two-part series. Listen to Part 1, Why are the Employees at Sounds True So Happy?
Additional Resources:
- Sounds True
- Conscious Business CD by Fred Kofman [available from Sounds True]
- Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism by Patricia Aburdene

"I don't value the financial growth of the business at the expense of our moment-to-moment experience." - Tami Simon
Are there really companies where you can come to work and simply be yourself, where your shared humanity is as, or even more, important than the "the bottom-line". Tami Simon, the founder of Sounds True—a multimedia publishing company dedicated to disseminating spiritual wisdom—claims that there is, and that her company Sounds True is just such a place.
Listen in to hear about the conscious work practices that Sounds True employs, including emotional intelligence training, conscious meeting practices, and a hiring system that filters out those people who aren't in "values alignment" with the rest of the company.
This is part 1 of two-part series.
Additional Resources:
- Sounds True
- Conscious Business CD by Fred Kofman (available from Sounds True)

Cooperatives have been shown to be 9 times more likely to succeed than normal businesses, but why!? In simple terms one could say that "love is more effective than greed", but it turns out that it's a bit more complex. Our guests discuss many different factors involved in creating a successful cooperative, including the amount and quality of education available to members, the depth of the participation of the members, their communication skills, and even the ability to attune oneself to the needs of the collective.
Our guests also drive home the point that the spiritual and psychological development of the individual plays a tremendously important role in these communities. They suggest, though not always agreeing on the terminology, that a leadership structure based on depth and skill, should be in the forefront of the minds of those who want to create a successful cooperative.
This is part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to Part 1, The Cooperative Movement: It's Not Me and Mine, It's We and Ours.
Additional Resources:
- The Cooperative Movement: Globalization from Below, by Dick Williams
- International Co-operative Alliance (ICA)
- Mondragon Cooerative