May

8

New-Era Business: What’s Out? What’s Emerging?

May 8, 2008 |

Jamie Walters of Ivy SeaGuest post by Jamie Walters
Jamie Walters, besides being a longstanding friend and colleague, is the Founder and Vision Keeper of Ivy Sea, Inc., a business consulting firm. She is also the author of one of my favorite small business books, “Big Vision, Small Business” (Berrett-Koehler, 2002) and occupies a top spot on my personal list of “Favorite People Who Think.”

Most of us can sense, see, and hear a whole new ‘way of seeing, way of being’ being born, affecting how we view and ‘do’ every facet of our lives, including how we do business and how we approach ‘work’.

Do you remember when greed was definitely NOT good, and ‘urgent’ was seen as a life-threatening emergency, rather than default business jargon?

And how about when you were a ‘citizen’ rather than a ‘consumer’ — and ‘consumption’ was considered to be a disease rather than a cornerstone of culture?

There is no doubt about it, the old assumptions that we used to make about ‘business’ and ’success’ are being challenged, and are (or will be) changing considerably, and not a minute too soon.

For example, 20 years ago, the business icon was like Gordon Gekko, from the movie Wall Street, proclaiming that ‘greed is good’. Machiavellian antics weren’t just tolerated, they were viewed as ‘the norm’, and celebrated as being necessary for ’success’, no matter who got stepped on.

And as the Gordon Gekko’s of the business world were celebrated, and ‘downsizing’ was on the rise, anyone talking about ’social responsibility’ or ‘environmental consciousness’ or ’spirit-aligned work’ or ‘following your heart’ was marginalized, or even ridiculed.

During the passing era, small wasn’t beautiful, it was invisible. All that existed, for all we knew, were larger corporations, celebrity CEOs, ‘titans of industry’, and ‘corporate raiders’.

Times have changed. Markedly.

Now we hear terms like ‘conscious business’ and ’spiritual business’, or even, as I’ve written about, 360-vision ‘holographic business’. Spirit-centered and integrity focused ‘right livelihood’ is replacing the old ideas about ‘the rat race’ career track.

Greed for greed’s sake, urgency for urgency’s sake, and big for big’s sake are increasingly out of favor and out of style. ‘Social responsibility’ and ‘green business’ are even viewed as ‘yesterday’ — only the first tentative steps in re-imagining how we might meet the needs and unfold the greater potentials of the new era and new millennium.

More and more, those who are celebrated in this new era are the formerly ‘marginalized’ trail-blazers talking about whole and edgier new ways of viewing livelihood, business, and success.

If it doesn’t take into account its real, net effect on people, Nature, and planet — and ensure that that effect is respectful of Nature, people, and cultures — it’s ‘old era’ business.

Resource-chomping, culture-zapping, Nature-pillaging, ‘empire era’ mega-corporations run by Gorden (or Glenda) Gekko are out. If it threatens your health, marginalizes your family and community, and violates your heart and conscience, it’s not ’success’.

In 2008, we have ‘LOHAS’ (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) businesses, but the real, emerging stars of the show are the ‘human scale, living economy’ enterprises, and a ’slow business’ approach.

Now, a growing number of us know that more than 90-percent of all U.S. businesses have fewer than 5 people — known as microbusinesses — and a majority of those are actually one-person sole proprietorships. Yes, these ‘itty, bitty’ ultra-modest, often-simple enterprises are the drivers of economy and culture.

Small is ‘in’, simple-and-elegant is the trend, ’seven generations’ is the horizon for decision-making, heart is the center, and we are returning to our role as ‘conscious citizens’ rather than frenzied ‘consumers’.

The ‘Divine Feminine’ is replacing Gordon Gekko as the force to be emulated, embodied, awakened, and celebrated to restore balance and healthfulness, and ensure ’sustainability’.

Though the harbingers of change have been afoot for quite awhile, we’re at the edge of a wave that will grow before it peaks. Greater change, or perhaps the final changes to prevailing systems and norms, are before us. And while change can be challenging, it’s also rich with creative potential for systems that are more appropriate to our times.

There are many elements and facets to ‘the new-era’ way of being in business or approaching our work, and if you haven’t already starting to think about it and embody it in your own organization or livelihood, it’s time to take a fresh look and begin doing so. Pretty exciting!

Ivy Sea has experimented with, written about, and consulted on these ‘new-era’ ways of ‘mindful business’ and ‘conscious solo/SOHOpreneuring’ for more than fifteen years now, and the Ivy Sea Circle has a lot to share.

Visit Ivy Sea Online to explore and learn more.

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Comments

1 Comment so far

  1. Michael L. Gooch on May 8, 2008 5:11 pm

    I really enjoyed your writing. If you don’t mind, I’d like to wade in with a couple of thoughts. The connection between spiritually and business success is obvious to those who want to scratch beneath the surface. If you find spiritual beliefs contrary to science, then spiritual beliefs are viewed as measly superstitions and fallacies. This popular view is simply wrong. Science and religion operate under vastly different parameters. In my management book, Wingtips with Spurs: Lessons From the Ranch, I devote an entire chapter in this ‘business’ book to the connection of business success and aiming for a higher calling. In spite all of the majesty and awe that the scientific world inspires, science is not designed to answer the questions that religion asks. Nor should we use religion to fill in the ‘God of the gaps.’ Religion should embrace science as it improves our ability to explain how God put things together. Indeed, elites of organized religions hate the efforts to seek a scientific context for the appreciation of spiritual phenomena. They seek to control humanity with doctrine and dogma. Science in its intellectual, methodical, peer-reviewed processes can deepen our wonder and amazement at the power of God. Instead of warring factions, the two sides should encourage each other. I saw a newspaper headline recently that read, “Darwin vs. God, Round 2007: Kansas Declares Darwin Winner.” This is wrong on many levels. Splashy headlines are one thing; gross irresponsibility is another. I cannot stress it enough. God and science are not at odds. They never have been. Francis S. Collins, the scientist who lead the Human Genome Project, stated it best when he said, “Science is not threatened by God; it is enhanced.” Michael L. Gooch, SPHR www.michaellgooch.com

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