Doing business in the age of conscious capitalism

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the concept of “Conscious Capitalism,” which refers to a new, more enlightened approach to business purpose and management. Design/methodology/approach The paper describes how the context for business has changed in fundamental ways in the past two decades, calling for a new approach to business that reflects rising levels of consciousness among customers and employees as well as multiple and deepening challenges facing the world today. It is imperative that business gets on the right side of society rather than continuing to add to societal burdens, as is too often the case. Conscious capitalism is not synonymous with corporate social responsibility (CSR); since society is recognized as an important, even the primary stakeholder, the core business itself must by definition be socially responsible. A conscious approach to business is based on the adoption of a higher purpose that transcends profits, a stakeholder rather than shareholder orientation, and conscious, service‐oriented leadership. Findings Businesses that adopt this approach not only create multiple types of long‐term wealth for society at large (including social, emotional, intellectual and even spiritual wealth); but they also dramatically outperform conventional firms on financial measures of performance. The world of conscious business is thus largely devoid of the trade‐offs that are commonly made and accepted as part of business‐as‐usual. Practical implications The paper concludes by recognizing that a conscious approach to business is highly compatible with the ancient wisdom found in Indian and other traditions. Originality/value This paper shows that there is the potential to enter a golden age of leadership thinking that blends the best of modern Western practice (geared towards efficiencies) and ancient Eastern wisdom (focused on effectiveness).