It’s time for change in corporate culture
Bertus Coetzee Insight
There is a growing awareness in South Africa and internationally that the corporate world must wield its power with care, and that when it does so, it has unparalleled potential for good.
This consciousness is being sharpened by our shock at the extent of state capture and economic devastation that rotten politicians and business figures, together, have wrought.
Rising numbers of heads will roll from key national leadership positions, as evidence from the Zondo Commission mounts.
The recent ousting of Sars commissioner Tom Moyane is one of many cases that will be widely welcomed.
However, others are more nuanced: The fall from grace of former finance minister Nanhlanhla Nene, for example, has revealed how quickly people with noble intentions can become caught up in compromise.
Overall, Nene’s track record is good, and his credibility will probably be restored. Nevertheless, his story highlights the need for us all to operate with integrity at all times.
It shows that what may seem a small sleight of hand in the present will, in all likelihood, come back to bite us in the future.
Other than the long tentacles of the Guptas’ alleged corruption, many more cases from the corporate world are emerging, the case of VBS Bank the most recent.
It is time to take a stand for a different corporate culture, one that is driven by values of integrity and responsibility.
Business culture is well established and growing in South Africa and globally. It was outlined by Brenda Kali, CEO of the Conscious Leadership Academy, in a recent interview with Radio 702.
Kali emphasised the need for leaders to have clarity of thought and empathy.
Using examples such as that of former South African president Nelson Mandela, she stressed that business leaders and others needed to “do the right thing” as their leadership provided a huge opportunity to touch many lives for the good.
We have found a similar vision outlined in the book Conscious Capitalism, by John Mackey and Raj Sisodia, launched in 2014; the ensuing Conscious Capitalism movement and, closer to home, the work of our country’s National Business Initiative (NBI).
These are organisations orienting every aspect of their operations towards creating an ethical and sustainable future in every respect.
They are capitalist organisations that serve and make sense for our modern world.
The NBI, whose membership includes scores of South Africa’s largest companies, is working tirelessly to provide thought leadership and take action, in very practical ways, to address all the challenges necessary for shaping a sustainable future. These range from education and skills development to ethical governance and climate change mitigation.
The organisation is also secretariat to the CEO Initiative, whose CEO pledge, launched during some of the darkest days of former president Jacob Zuma era, took a strong leadership stance in encouraging government, labour and business leaders to commit to an ethical stance in all their actions. Company leaders can still take this public pledge.
Conscious Capitalism requires a company to consider the well-being of all those it interacts with: its own team members, customers, suppliers, the end users of its products, and the environment. It asks us to put into practice the best, rather than the worst, of human attributes.
Mackey is CEO of the US organic grocery chain Whole Foods Market, and Sisodia is a thought leader and business professor.
They outline an approach for individual business leaders that, in our company’s experience, simply works.
It is energising, creating an environment where one solution grows into another.
A first step is to be sure of the purpose of one’s business. This attracts and inspires other people.
Conscious capitalists see people not as a resource to be squeezed for productivity, but as a source of solutions and new growth.
Team members can then function like a nuclear reactor’s fuel rods, able to do little on their own but, together, creating unprecedented energy.
Customers need to be seen not as consumers to be sold to, but as human beings to be served.
Profit remains very important, as without it, capitalism would not exist. But profits can be achieved in a constructive way.
Forces for good and bad, and a continuous battle between the two, will always exist.
There will always be a need for commissions of inquiry and the courts of law to right the wrongs that are committed.
At the same time, we also need to change our corporate culture by becoming increasingly conscious of what we are doing and how we do it.
If we lose this awareness, the good can easily subside and a narrow view of self-focus alone can dominate, causing much damage.
Most companies have not evolved to take advantage of this new approach.
It is time for this to change.
It is time for a corporate culture that is driven by values of integrity and responsibility
Kali emphasised the need for leaders to have clarity of thought and empathy