Companies that give back to their communities don’t just look good, they perform better too. This is the future of capitalism.
The free market charity model isn’t just a notion that some companies embrace. It’s also an effective tool for making your company better. Being a conscious capitalist is a net benefit for all parties, and one report illustrates that said benefits include increased employee performance and retainment, greater profits, and better public perception.
What was once an unconventional idea among young entrepreneurs trying to reshape the culture in their industries, especially among tech titans, has evolved into a successful business model. But this model is more than an introductory staff pamphlet, it’s a mindset.
To be a conscious capitalist, one has to do more than master their own public relations.
They have to believe in their products and services, progressively mitigate the consequences of their business, and treat their employees with respect. It sounds like an ideal, and it is, but it’s one that has seen success in the real world.
According to that Harvard Business Review report, companies that embody this culture are in fact out-performing those that don’t. The author of that report illustrated this when he wrote about conscious capitalist companies, “the 18 publicly traded companies out of the 28 outperformed the S&P 500 index by a factor of 10.5 over the years 1996-2011.”
In other words, companies are embodying the ethical business model and they’re seeing returns on their cultural investments.
In fact, conscious capitalism has become so popular, there’s an organization dedicated to unifying people who subscribe. Conscious Capitalism, Inc. works across the globe to bring their movement together in an effort to make businesses and communities better.
Their motto, “elevating humanity through business,” captures exactly what the organization does. Although the organization wasn’t official until 2010, the greater Conscious Capitalism movement began to take root in the 1980s. Among the Conscious Capitalism founding crew is John Mackey of Whole Foods Market, Michael Strong, Philomena Blees, and Jeff Klein.
With chapters across the globe, Conscious Capitalism, Inc. is creating a unified network of local communities of conscious business people and entrepreneurs. The organization has chapters all over the United States, as well as in Europe, South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
With economies becoming liberated in the developing world and the ease of communication in the internet age, Conscious Capitalism, Inc. is making an international effort to produce “businesses that are good, ethical, noble and heroic.”
The organization is trying to get their message out there so that they’re a household name among business owners. And the new Conscious Capitalism, Inc. CEO, Alexander McCobin, has been tapped to make it happen.
McCobin said in an interview in June that his two main goals are to enhance the organization’s international presence and to translate their organization’s message into practical business applications. It would make sense that McCobin prioritize growing Conscious Capitalism, Inc.’s international presence considering he co-founded another international free market-oriented organization eight years ago, Students For Liberty (SFL).
Since its inception, SFL has brought thousands of young people into the libertarian political movement through hosting large scale events across the globe, training thousands more on campus activism and economics, and helping members get published in major media outlets.
McCobin helped to establish SFL in communities from Washington, D.C. to Texas, Paris to Prague, and Miami to Venezuela. Similar to Conscious Capitalism, Inc.’s “practice what you preach” mentality, SFL members participate in charity events – something I recently discussed.
Considering the international presence of youth organizations such as SFL, Conscious Capitalism, Inc. has a new generation of future business leaders, politicians, journalists, policy analysts, and financiers at their disposal.
As studies in recent years suggest, a majority of Americans – especially young Americans – consider themselves to be fiscally conservative and socially liberal. Those ideological ingredients make for the perfect libertarian batch, folks who probably subscribe to the message of Conscious Capitalism, Inc. Plenty of major businesses have already become partners, including The Container Store, Whole Foods Market, Clarke, First United Bank, and more.
Their members believe in free markets but they also believe that every individual has a responsibility to their community. The Conscious Capitalism Credo precisely outlines their message in the line that states that, “Conscious Capitalism is a way of thinking about capitalism and business that better reflects where we are in the human journey, the state of our world today, and the innate potential of business to make a positive impact on the world.”
That message is very appealing to millennial activists, entrepreneurs, and employees. And it's one that Capitalism.com promotes on this platform as well.
Actively bringing together like-minded entrepreneurs and business owners, we share their stories, provide strategies and cover policy issues that impact their businesses. Some of the stories feature members of The Tribe, a network of conscious capitalists — individuals who are looking to better their lives and the lives of others through trade and businesses.
Similarly, many private sector companies embody this philosophy in their products and services. This includes Starbucks, Trader Joe's, and many other companies in the lifestyle of health and sustainability market.
The International Business Ethics Institute, Charles Koch's Market-Based Management, and the Harvard Business Review are just a few of the many outlets in conscious capitalism has been promoted.
Does your business employ an ethical model focused on humanity and solving the world's biggest problems? We want to know! Tell us in the comments below.
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