Over the years India as a country has seen many leaders come and go, each brought their style, belief and thinking to the table and brought a change in the way businesses were conducted, how people perceive things and the general sentiment.
Some of them have been capitalist in thinking, some have been very conscious about doing good to the society to the people of the country but the truth is 1 without the other cannot make a difference.
Conscious Capitalism is a term coined by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia.
The key to any society succeeding as we have seen in recent years, not just in India but across the world, is the Private, Public Partnership. This in a way is a form of conscious capitalism. Some of the bigger businesses over the years that have come forward to help the ruling parties build roads, build buildings for public usage, infrastructure for the country, have benefited from the association and gone on to becoming bigger brands with more recognition and respect.
Conscious Capitalism is that magic word, mindset, that can change businesses, countries, people and catapult them into a stronger, better, prosperous nation. It is that thinking that has the power to build countries and brands.
The term has a wealth of meaning and a true understanding of the term has the potential to bring wealth to all who understand it.
Companies adopting substantial levels of conscious capitalism into their work can be seen benefitting in several ways. Conscious capitalism deep-rooted into a business can help with better harmony between employees and the employers, as well as higher satisfaction among the employees and customers. When companies follow such a concept, they become a preference for their customers and stakeholders. They gain higher stakeholder loyalty along with better community engagement. This is because customers, employers as well as employees also benefit from the concept and the measures taken concerning conscious capitalism.
In India if we look at some of the powerful business houses and the history of their journey, where they started from and where they are today, we will be able to see somewhere there was a thought of a higher purpose which lead them to join hands and help build the nation, give back to the society that helped them be who they were.
The Tatas are a shining example of this, what started as a business, with the heads looking to garner more traction, generate employment in the cities and states where they set up shop, ended up as a mega project with the brand building townships, roads, wherever they went which not only benefited their employees but the general public that went onto set up life in these areas. A case in point is Jamshedpur.
If we search through the history of various business houses in India and other countries, we will see many such power houses that displayed what has been termed as conscious capitalism which had a huge role to play in building the nation
Conscious Capitalism is having the presence of a higher purpose, conscious leadership, focused on stakeholders and implementing conscious culture. Business with a higher purpose helps inspire and engage stakeholders, while stakeholder orientation helps focus on the complete business ecosystem rather than just the shareholders.
Similarly, conscious leadership focusses on collective thinking as ‘we’ and not merely as ‘me,’ while conscious culture sums values and principles which form the ethical fabric of the business. The latter brings cooperation and trust among stakeholders of the company.
The concept of conscious capitalism is what separates prosperous, happy nations from others. If companies and individuals understand the concept and can adopt it in their lives and business, success and goodwill is bound to follow them.
Moreover even consumers tend to prefer companies that are active in supporting worthwhile causes. Investors too consider businesses that have been known to give back to the society, display a conscious mindset towards the world at large whether it is to do with the environment, poverty or other issues.
The idea of Conscious Capitalism is picking up as companies start realising the potential of its implementation. The private sector around the world have in the last decade adopted many causes some as part of their CSR mandate and others out of their consciousness to do good to mankind and leave behind a cleaner greener planet for the next generation. This has made a significant impact on the environment, the lifestyle and the underdeveloped nations.
The time is right for everybody to come forward on an individual level, on a corporate level and a national level and bring about a change; a change in the way we think, our actions and be aware of the consequences. In a country like ours, we have the advantage to harness the power of people from various backgrounds with various skills and emerge as a successful nation. This can only happen when the people who are in a position to make a difference, take along with them, the underprivileged, the neglected, the kisaans, the daily wagers and all the people many of us have forgotten over the years who are such a vital part of the machinery and our strength.
The current pandemic has shown us we need some changes in the way we work today. Otherwise, such pandemics and many other problems will keep on knocking at our doors, while we will not have solutions to avoid them.
“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and souls of its people”- Mahatma Gandhi
(Views are personal)
