"Entrepreneurs: The World needs You!" article in Special Issue of Thunderbird International Business Review

It is with great pleasure that I am sharing with you my first internationally published article, in the Thunderbird International Business Review (TIBR) Special Issue on "The Fight Against Poverty", called "Entrepreneurs - The World needs You!". The fight against poverty is actually for me more a quest/path for a better world through more consciousness, inclusive and sustainable development.

I wrote this piece in personal capacity and I am an authentic believer in several global initiatives of the UN, its vision and potential of inclusive and conscious business for sustainable development. Therefore, I naturally mentioned several of UN's initiatives in this area I have been involved with such as the Global Compact, Growing Sustainable Business and Inclusive Market Development.

While this article calls on entrepreneurs and business people, in fact the world needs the full, authentic, conscious You, i.e. Essence/Potential/Soul of each of us. I hope its an inspiring article that you enjoy. Any feedback most welcome.

Abstract:
The way we see the role of business is changing dramatically. What have we learned from the recent and ongoing crises? Where does one look for guidance on the “right thing to do” now? In a world where we live on one globe, it is time to shift our energy to real responsibility and sustainability. This requires a new paradigm. As Albert Einstein said, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” We are not separated from our environment, nature, and society; we are actually a part of it.

Therefore, let us unleash entrepreneurship and the power of business in a way to serve us more holistically. This new type of thinking, this expanding consciousness, is giving birth to all the new concepts of social entrepreneurship, corporate social responsibility, corporate sustainability, inclusive business, conscious capitalism, and sustainable development.

On the global level, there are increasing numbers of business-oriented initiatives aimed at steering the power of business toward the public good such as the UN Global Compact and the Business Call to Action. Where to look for inspiration at the individual level? Within yourself. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “You have to be the change you want to see in the world.”

Continue reading the Full Article (PDF).

The Enlightened Business Summit - October 25-29th Teleseminar - Conscious Capitalism

Via the World Business Academy newsletter comes an open invitation to "The Enlightened Business Summit", a virtual global event that features around 40 top CEOs, bestselling authors, pioneering entrepreneurs, and provocateurs – for free. To cite from the World Business Academy:

"The Summit features leaders such as Tim Ferriss, Tony Hsieh, John Mackey, George Zimmer, Christine Comaford Lynch, Tony Schwartz, Roxanne Emmerich, Stephen M. Covey, and Mihaly Csikszenmihalyi. It’s designed with mainly 30-minute talks interspersed throughout the day so you can stay on top of your work while learning the best insights from the world’s top business minds.

If you’re like us, you recognize that conscious capitalism can become the single most powerful engine for good on our planet. But what it takes is having a great guidebook and wise advisors.

Most of us have been raised in a war-zone approach to business that actually doesn’t work very well – it leads to unhappy employees, uncreative teams, burned out leaders, and stagnant sales. Recent financial crises are forcing all of us to get far more creative in harnessing the best science, insights, and wisdom for creating businesses that liberate our creative potential and truly succeed – on all levels.

That’s why this event can be so valuable for you and your organization – it gives you unprecedented access to world-class advisors for transforming the way you do business.

You can participate live on as many calls as you like and interact with both the featured leaders and other participants via a state-of-the-art MaestroConference platform, which will connect you to participants from around the world.

The Enlightened Business Summit runs from Oct. 25-29th as a free offering from The Shift Network and it will be hosted by Chip Conley, author of Peak and one of the most popular speakers at this year’s TED conference."

I only know a few of the speakers so far, such as Stephen Covey ("7 habits of highly effective people"), Lance Secretan (read his ONE book on conscious leadership), Hazel Henderson. A very intersting topic and line-up. Being 'free' the value for money is hard to beat, so I will selectivly tune in.

For more information & registration see: www.enlightenedbusinesssummit.com

Me to We: Young individuals making a difference

Young individuals that try the make a bit of a better place inspire a lot. Yes, we all admire the Dalai Lama, Muhammad Yunus and Nelson Mandela. Young change makers have the advantage that it is much easier to identify with them. Seeing the (com)passion of young people not accepting the old apologies why the world is unfair and why it can't be changed, is refreshing and giving hope. One of the outstanding examples is Jeremy Gilley with his Peace One Day campaign and DVD I blogged about here.

The latest example I came across are two young Canadian brother, the Kielburgers. CBC featured them:

"Craig and Marc Kielburger have made headlines around the world. Craig organized students from his grade 7 class to start an awareness campaign about child labour.
'Free the Children' was born. Now just a year before, Craig's older brother Marc spent a year in Thailand at an AIDS hospital.

Since then, 'Free the Children' has gone from being a home-run organization to one that works around the world. They've received countless awards.. Had appearances - yes plural - on Oprah. And have an on-going partnership with her Angel Network. Conversed with Mother Theresa and the Pope. Done speaking tours with the Dali Lama, Bill Clinton and Desmond Tutu."

They also founded a business4good called Me to We Style selling organic fair trade clothing and doanting 50% of its profits to their charity. They even wrote a book 'Me to We: Finding Meaning in a Material World.'

Check out their interview on CBC!