A spiritual businessman must know how to work in a political and dishonest society while keeping his spiritual ideals intact, writes Radhanath Swami
In a volatile market economy companies are seeking stability and security by focusing their strategies towards core values and core purposes rather than immediate profitability. After all money is not everything and often businesses fail to pinpoint the causative factors leading to their success or failure. Certainty and reliability have become difficult to find in a market environment which has to constantly adapt to digitisation, changing consumer expectations and disruptive businesses. Therefore, a more traditional approach to business is evolving wherein trust and CSR play a bigger role.
This was highlighted by Collins and Porras way back in 1994: The proper first response to a changing world is not to ask, “How should we changeIJ” but rather to ask, “What do we stand for and why do we existIJ” This should never change. And then feel free to change everything else. Put another way, visionary companies distinguish their timeless core values and enduring purpose (which should never change) from their operating practices and business strategies.
This is further confirmed by Simon Sinek’s famous “Golden Circle” where he equates a company’s success to its strategy based more on why than over how and what (Sinek, 2009).Why questions define a company’s core values and purposes and thus gives a company conviction and character that stays constant throughout market fluctuations. As Gopalkrishnan, director of Tata Sons put it, “We do business the way we do, not because we have clear evidence it has a better chance of success. We do it because we know no other way”(Graham, 2010). This conservative business mentality works when we really believe in our core values, because shareholders and employees will always lean towards stability and integrity. In this a company gains real trust and public support.
Collins and Porras portray “core ideology” as a combination of core values and core purposes. Core values are the organisation’s essential and enduring tenets — a small set of general guiding principles, not to be confused with specific cultural or operating practices and never compromised for financial gain or short-term expediency. Core values need no rational or external justification, but are naturally present in the company’s management. Core purposes on the other hand are the organisation’s fundamental reasons for existence beyond just making money — a perpetual guiding star on the horizon, not to be confused with specific goals or business strategies.
How then can we find core principles that will stand the test of time and that are truly in tune with our higher principles in lifeIJ This is where many business men remain ambivalent, wanting to go with “what works” over what they naturally consider as their inner values. The marketplace does not respect weak-hearted entrepreneurs. Sooner or later businesses built on a weak foundation are sure to collapse. After all we all know how sensitive the stock market is. People can lose their confidence even upon the slightest indicator of irregularity. Take for example 2016’s Brexit poll of the British Parliament not entering the EU. Therefore, it is only by true positive intentions that companies pass the test of time. Their genuine desire for the welfare of society is felt by everyone. In short, their principles are based on dharma(spiritual duty) and not on mental fluctuations.
The principles that we try to balance always remain common and sacred. let us look at how youth affects us. Many people, when they are young, listen to a certain type of music and their tastes never change as they grow old. Their whole lives they and their friends and their whole generation listen to the same music — the same bands and the same songs. Kids think that what their parents listen to is completely out-dated and uncool. When the Rolling Stones give a revival tour, 90% of the people are in their sixties, but young people cannot tolerate the music their parents were into.
Youth is a very deeply impressive part of our lives. It deeply influences us and is different with each generation. Each generation has different priorities. When the Great Depression struck America, the country was suffering from total poverty. The unemployment rate was high and many had to leave school as teenagers, working just so that their families could eat. There was great struggle and they were brought up in that environment. But those who grew up in the prosperity of the 1950s, after World War II, had a very different mentality. They would condemn their parents, “Why are you so concerned about money all the timeIJ Who cares about moneyIJ”There was no need to care about money. Being brought up in a different world, they developed different impressions.
Today it is very crucial that we balance our deeper principles. This balance is universal and affects our morality and values of compassion, love, family, and of what is the purpose of life. They should be harmonised; not one against the other. A ‘sadhu’ is someone who walks away from the world for attaining a spiritual life, but the deeper reason for a sadhu not having a family is that he can give his or her entire energy to the entire human family. Everyone can be a dynamic leader at some level, in their personal life or in society, by balancing morality with the necessities to go ahead in business. Business life is not always a peaceful affair. A spiritual businessman needs to know how to apply himself in a political and dishonest society while keeping his spiritual ideals and not getting disheartened.
The writer is an ISKCON spiritual guru