What is conscious business?

Conscious Business is a term that has been gaining some prominence, and the generally accepted premise behind it is one of ensuring that business is conducted in a manner that is conscious, that is to say there is awareness of the impact a business has on its customers, partners, employees, and the environment.

Up until this point with some exceptions, focus has been on the ‘bottom line’, how much profit is to be made, and constantly seeking new markets, customers and reducing costs.

Quarterly results are often paramount and many damaging decisions can be made for short term gain. There is often internal conflict across departments, and in some cases outright competition.

The two pronged approach to increasing profitability is to reduce cost and increase sales. Reducing cost often means selling off parts of a business, ‘outsourcing’ or reducing head count all of which have the effect of treating human staff as commodities to be traded or downsized. Once this begins to take place it creates a climate of instability and distrust. This is at the very least felt by customers and the market and impedes the success of a business.

The focus on sales and marketing is frequently pushing and forced with little thought for the real value to a customer, consumer or market. Although a ‘win’ may be made, it sometimes turns out to be difficult to deliver against and then becomes a ‘loss’ for all concerned.

Intelligence and Co-Creation

Intelligence is often considered to be a function of a trained mind, whereas it is a force of life that underlies all form and all nature. Consciousness is aware of itself and that everything is interconnected so that whatever occurs to one affects the whole, there is a rapidly growing awareness amongst ever more people that we are consciousness, not simply a mind within a body. As this awareness is increasing so people wish to do business with others and purchase goods that are produced with this awareness.

A conscious business therefore works in cooperative creation with its customers, partners, employees, and the business itself in order to create the value to be offered to its chosen markets.

A conscious business is aware that its foundation must be based in trust, without which the fortunes and longevity of a business will always be subject to fluctuations due to external circumstances, the inner actions and intentions of a conscious business founded on trust, cooperation, value creation, and awareness of its impact on those it touches is more powerful and lasting, than that based solely on a desire to maximise opportunity at minimum cost.