Harmony Equity Group
So over the course of the last two years or so I’ve been working with a remarkable team of individuals, both formally as well as informally, on attempting to revisit the basic assumptions of the role of business and commerce in society.
Watching everything go down with the financial industry has had me very agitated at times. It seems we often end up trying to blame a bad CEO or a few greedy people at the top or even an entire industry while we completely ignore the fact that the entire cultural context within which ALL corporate decisions are made is rooted firmly in a pervasive materialist ideology that explicitly states that human prosperity will follow material prosperity as a matter of course. (Though I wonder if the series of failed social experiments that we refer to as the 20th century might provide a bit of evidence to the contrary)
In the absence of any significant attempts at explicitly nurturing the moral, social and spiritual spheres of civilization, it doesn’t seem to me like there should be much doubt as to the outcome. If the entire emphasis is on the material and we have a society that is completely lopsided in that direction, of course people will be irresponsible with other people’s money, of course they will lie, cheat and steal, of course they will sacrifice any notion of morality for greater material gain. Because if human fulfillment follows material material fulfillment, then the “material advancement by any means necessary” actually becomes your moral code in a sense.
Of course this is not to say that material prosperity plays no role in human fulfillment…quite to the contrary. Surely it is tough to think lofty thoughts when you’re starving, but the problem is when you place an undue emphasis on the material, neglecting the other essential elements of societal, and thus human, development.
So in this project of ours, we’re trying to take a stab and learning something about an alternate role for business that takes into account these other elements. One that believes that the fundamental purpose of business or commerce is to ensure the prosperity of humankind. It seems to me that the very existence of NGO’s and trusts is a testament to the failure of commerce to accomplish that purpose. As such, we’re starting from that assumption, recognizing that we don’t know what type of a system will actually emerge, but starting from the ground up in the hopes that we will start to discern patterns and trends that might contribute something meaningful to the global discourse on “Oh no! Institutions we once thought were impregnable are crumbling…what do we do?!!”
I’ve found it useful for myself to think about our initiative in terms of hardware and software elements.
The “hardware” side of this project is to define and implement an institutional structure that takes as a fundamental assumption the role of a firm to be an animator of progress for an ever-advancing civilization instead of strictly to increase shareholder value, where the definition of progress or development is more holistic and not strictly defined in material terms (Amartya Sen, for example, defines development as freedom). This also has to do with creating the appropriate incentive structures, ownership models, management structures and a collaborative IT framework that would be reflective of such a paradigm that takes into account the need for harmony of the material, social, moral and spiritual spheres of civilization.
The “software” side of the project really has to do with redefining the cultural context within which the corporation operates. Central to this is an HR development program that acknowledges our spiritual reality and recognizes its development as one of the responsibilities of a corporation. If the firm is to be player in advancing the interests of society, surely one of its responsibilities is to have a program that considers the spiritual and moral development of its workforce. The implications are not only profound for a healthy and collaborative atmosphere within which a unified organization could be far more productive, but really for the entire extended sphere of family and other social connections that the employees will now be interacting with on a more enlightened level.
Additionally, the fact that we can institute a curriculum without the approval of a board of education or that we can institute an experiment in governance models without worrying about losing an election should the experimental governance model prove to be defective, places the firm in an optimal positional to act as a Petri dish of sorts for other civil organizations that may not have the flexibility necessary for experimentation (which in turn is essential for our survival). It seems to me that the one big thing lacking from the entire field of political science is the science (at least from my perspective). It also seems to me that we need to start finding radically innovative ways of governing ourselves and of revisiting the role of commerce in society at an ever increasing pace as the forces of disintegration continue to wreak havoc in the old world order.
So…that’s what I’m doing these days. Oh, and New Years Resolution: I’m going to blog TWICE A WEEK for 2009. I have an enforcer that has kindly promised to inflict severe pain upon me if I neglect that duty.
April 3rd, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Harmony Equity Group sounds like a great experiment. I wait with anticipation the experiments and experiences.
And a quick thought. I was reading something about the place of business and commerce in the economic structure and I finally realized that their role was to provide distribution channels for goods and services.
ae
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April 4th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
I completely agree with you that the fundamental purpose of commerce should be to ensure the prosperity of mankind. What a different world we would live in if corporate application of “the golden rule” were the norm. I also agree that we need to have actual science take its rightful place in “political science.”
Another important issue you raised was “software” or redefining the cultural context. I’ve often wondered how we might “rebrand” or “mass market” the idea that “It’s cool to be smart; it’s cool to be of service to the greater good; and it’s cool to live modestly”?
As for hardware — hmmm — I’m actually working on a school model right now. Would love to get your feedback on it — Seems like a sort-of new structure; but another set of thoughts undoubtedly sees something different.
On another note, I’m going to swing out on a limb and disagree with you, Todd. The 20th century was the century of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi. Both made very “significant attempts to explicitly nurture the moral, social and spiritual spheres of civilization.” To loosely paraphrase an Einstein quote I barely remember, the physicist described a future world in which humanity will hardly believe that one like Gandhi ever existed.
I believe that the 21st century must not forget the teachings of such peacemakers, but must expand upon them. It sounds like Harmony Equity Group will be spawning some commercial endeavors that will work toward such ends (with, I’m sure, drastically new twists). I look forward to hearing more about HEG’s upcoming projects and endeavors.
And I’d really like to read more of your ideas on radically new ways to govern ourselves.
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admin Reply:
April 5th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Thanks for the comment Cheri Renee. Yes…I completely agree with you that concomitant with what seems like a steady disintegration of societal systems over the course of the last century we have witnessed a much more silent but unmistakable process of integration. The world if viewed through that lens of the integrative elements certainly seems like more of a century of light than darkness doesn’t it?
Clearly the last century has seen the birth of tremendous heroes like the ones that you have mentioned, and even beyond that in some early expressions of human solidarity through the emergence of global institutions like the UN (notwithstanding obvious structural refinement that has to happen there). I’ve read in some brilliant statements that I’d love to share with you at some point that the great legacy of our last century was the recognition that we are one people and the earth our common homeland.
Your new school sounds cool…yes, lets chat about it and maybe I could introduce you to some people that would undoubtedly give much more insightful feedback than I!!! Thanks again for the post and I’m pasting below the fantastic quote that I believe you were making reference to.
(Albert Einstein on the occasion of Mahatma Mohandas Gandhi’s 70th Birthday in 1939)
“A leader of his people, unsupported by any outward authority: a politician whose success rests not upon craft nor the mastery of technical devices, but simply on the convincing power of his personality; a victorious fighter who always scorned the use of force; a man of wisdom and humility, armed with resolve and inflexible consistency, who had devoted all his strength to the uplifting of his people and the betterment of their lot; a man who had confronted the brutality of Europe with the dignity of the simple human being, and thus at all times risen superior. Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked on this earth.”
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Cheri Renee Reply:
April 7th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Yes, thank you for the whole quote, Todd! That was exactly what I was referring to; and it’s been too long since I read the entire thing.
In terms of the lens of our worldview, I’m going to go with a wishy-washy “yes and no” response to your question. Gandhi, King, (Mandela, Thich Nat Hahn, HH Dalai Lama, etc.) were (and are) beacons of light that led people out of times and states of great darkness. The 20th century seems to me to have been one in which the world was in a constant state of imbalance, where darkness, especially violence, often had the upper hand.
Therefore, I would say the great struggle is to find some sort of internal and external equilibrium, which allows people to let go of their need for absolute power, dominance, conquering, possession and permits them to be at peace with nature, one another, and what they *have.*
Permit me the indulgence of claiming that some of this imbalance has to do with the predominance of patriarchy and the overvaluing of masculine energies — with the simultaneous devaluing of feminine qualities — across the globe. Most of the Earth’s major religions speak of a Father, who will either *Save* or *Condemn* us, while barely uttering the name, Mother, let alone discussing Her power. Yet, if more people explored the inner sanctum of the God/dess, I believe they would find the energy, qualities and value of creation, bounty, nurturing, unconditional love and redemptive reconciliation. While this is a statement of opinion, my observations, experience, and reading (comparative religion for fun — everyone does that right?) suggest this to be true: Until woman and God/dess are restored to their rightful place as equals beside man and God, the Earth and humankind will remain out of balance.
Well, wouldn’t you know it? The soles of my feet suddenly got all soapy from standing on the suds box — so I’m off to wash them!
I will look forward to your sharing with me some of your favorite readings, which uphold that resounding and important Truth: “We are one people and the Earth is our common homeland.” Certainly, when we recognize one another as brothers and sisters, it becomes difficult to do intentional harm and nearly impossible not to forgive and not to love.
With love, forgiveness, reconciliation and the Hippocratic oath (*giggle*) serving as the foundations, humanity should be ready to build a house of peace, where all are welcome.
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