Redefining the Role of Business in Society
As we stand on the threshold of creating a new version of our world, it is worth reflecting on how we got here. Frankly, there is a lot of reflecting required right now.
We are coming up against the dark underbelly of our societies in ways that we cannot avoid any longer.
I remain convinced that business has a pivotal role in creating the new, but not without reflection and a clear understanding of purpose. The sacred cows of business practice need to be questioned.
No business has a neutral impact. It is either contributing positively or contributing negatively.
A business creating positive impact is either supporting the local fabric of its community or working to create positive benefit for the collective.
Many businesses have been created to do neither. They have been created to be entirely self-serving. The behemoths of the corporate world are totally disconnected from the energy that created them. The belief that small business is a smaller version of a big business has cascaded this disconnection down “through the ranks” until we have a reality that is impenetrable and near impossible to break down.
You only have to look at how marketing is used in our society to see this in action.
