All crises, including economic crises stem from a crisis of consciousness. And as, with each passing day, systems get more and more crisis ridden and driven, the need to awaken sub-systemic and systemic consciousness gets more and more imminent.
In my article, Tap Enterprise Consciousness, which got published about two years back, I had briefly underscored the need for living enterprises to awaken consciousness and become Conscious Enterprises in order to stay alive and evolve.
There is an element of consciousness of a certain essence of life amongst living systems. This is the fundamental determinant for a living enterprise to evolve. Thus, there could be enterprises which are very much alive, breathing and pulsating over decades and yet with little or no sign of movement. This is a classic case of the enterprise consciousness being not awakened, threatening extinction of a living enterprise.
And today, it is not surprising, as if in response to the prevalence of crises, that there is a subtle yet significant shift amongst the custodians of business enterprises to re-shape there organization as Conscious Enterprises.
So what is a Conscious Enterprise all about? How is different from a classical enterprise?
A Conscious Enterprise works with a greater and sustained consciousness of its DNA of existence - the very purpose and ‘seed’ of its existence, its fundamental drivers and therefore for whom and why it exists and the ways in which it inherently is meant to create and offer value to its stakeholders.
In the case of conscious enterprise the ends are more human - life-enhancing, creational / transformational, inclusive and inter-dependent and all-sustaining. This necessitates the means to the end to be discerningly employed and aligned to such values.
The paradigm that primarily focuses on and seeks return by fostering consumptive behavior and "quantity in life" is fast fading to give space and reason for emergence conscious enterprises that crusades for creation and conservation and fosters "quality of life" through alignment with higher values.
In order to generate sustainable economic value for itself and its stakeholders from the humanistic values it is built upon, Conscious Enterprises must have intent-driven practices that acknowledge and embrace the first principles of life on earth – the Law, the Tao or the Primordial Order. It is this foundational quality that essentially differentiates a Conscious Enterprise from any other enterprise creating and offering value.
The challenges of creating and running a conscious enterprise stems from the paradigms of the traditional economy driven world that we carry and find difficult to let go.
For example, growth in conscious enterprise does not happen in the physical realm where much of processes are reactive in nature but in a space of shared consciousness, a space where a much higher intelligence – awareness- get’s into play making original actions and harmonious responses possible.
It is essential therefore for conscious enterprises and system to awaken consciousness in the sub systems too – what we can call as cellular consciousness.
Conscious enterprises also warrant a departure from being led by a frozen and static character – a poor substitute of consciousness. Which obviates the end of trying to ‘learn’ from or ape the others’ greatness and fosters valuing of individual uniqueness blossoming with learning from life.
Breath is the gateway to consciousness. To survive, it is enough to breathe. However to be consciously alive it is essential to ‘know’ that we breathe. By being aware of it. To enable this knowing, members of conscious enterprises must slow down with their effort-intensive ‘activities’ and be more watchful to allow for a certain spaciousness around them. The focus then shift from ‘doing’ to ‘making things happen’. There is no performance, only contribution to creating value. And with ‘performance’ becoming contribution, its causal linear link to short-term outcomes also vanishes.
In addition to the above, cellular consciousness also enables simultaneity, transcending the limits of physicality. Unlike inter-dependence of roles and responsibilities across functions in a traditional enterprise, here it is interplay of energies emanating from the conscious presence of each individual. Linear logic, speed and velocity lose relevance. Seemingly magical events happening without much effort amidst a sense of harmony prevailing across the organization becomes the order of the day.
It does not take competence, experience or knowledge to belong to a conscious enterprise. Quite contrarily the process of seeking membership with a conscious enterprise begins with shedding the egoic attachments to ones credentials and upholding what could be ones calling. The moment this calling resonates with the institutional calling and mission, a process of conscious engagement and enrollment takes over and within no time one finds a purposeful space for making meaningful contributions. Delivery gives way to enablement, products / solutions become offerings, functional boundaries dissolve and jobs get re-defined as responsibilities. Responsibilities that serve one sacred and superordinate cause for the Existence to make manifest itself and allow joyful co-existence of those who have dedicated themselves to this cause. With humility.
If you feel you are Conscious Enterprise, one in making or aspire to be one and you find this post speaking to you, please feel free to reachme@indroneil.com with your experiences and insights. Would love to include the same in a possible sequel to this post.
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