The Conscious Capitalism CEO Summit in Austin, Texas.
I’m still processing the many, powerful learning experiences from last week’s The Conscious Capitalism CEO Summit in Austin, Texas. It was a privilege to get to speak to this special group about my own journey as a conscious leader at The Body Shop and to hear from so many other impressive speakers. Big thank you to Timothy Henry for asking the tough questions that allowed the leadership lessons to get told! Also to Karen Sammon and her brilliant team for putting on an outstanding event.
I first came across the movement through the book ‘Conscious Capitalism’ by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia. I was very taken with the sub-heading - ‘Unleashing the heroic power of business!’ It’s worth reading. John’s story of how and why he set up Whole Foods - and what he learned in the process - is incredibly inspiring. The founder of The Body Shop, Anita Roddick was, in effect, a conscious capitalist - she was often quoted as saying that she believed ethical capitalism was the most effective way of creating positive change in society.
Some of the lessons I shared:
- A sense of purpose is an incredibly powerful way of galvanizing an organization to achieve more than it imagined was possible.
It shouldn’t just be a ‘brand thing’ - it is the big idea that unites all the people across the company and enables them to build a
successful business that can compete and win. - When executing a purposeful plan - leaders need to make sure that ‘the words and music’ always match … companies are complex
organisms and there are many conflicting pressures and challenges - so use the sense of purpose to make better choices and to do
the right thing. - There will be difficult situations to overcome and decisions to be made that at first sight may not seem to be aligned with purpose. Leaders have to make the time to have an open, 2-way dialogue with the wider company; to listen to concerns and explain the choices being made and how they fit into a bigger picture … and align with purpose.
