The evolution of business ethics is apparent all around, even to those of us in professions that aren't supposed to be "in it for the money." Psychology's code of ethics, for instance, has shifted from a "minimum standards" emphasis to an "aspirational goals" model. But what's the best way to guide yourself moment-by-moment as a businessperson without having to consult a detailed set of guidelines from your business guild or the index of your favorite religious text(s)?
The Leader's Way: The Art of Making the Right Decisions in Our Careers, Our Companies, and the World at Large (2009, Broadway Books) gives an encouraging overview of ways modern companies and their leaders have begun to operate with more consciousness of the impact of their decisions internally and on the world around them. Co-authored by the Dalai Lama and management consultant Laurens van den Muyzenberg, this book presents a Buddhist take on the subject, simply framed as aiming for Right View (beneficent intention and motivation free of negative thought and emotion) and Right Conduct (acting in such a way that the organization, its employees, and customers all benefit.)
The book suggests actions as small and doable as walking mindful of the feel of your footsteps as you move from office to office in order to increase awareness of your real intentions and motivations and deal with stress more rationally.
Or the vision can be as large as formulating your company as multinational--without one headquarters, but with each location operating with understanding, sensitivity and autonomy as part of the national culture within which it resides.
The book is introductory level where Buddhist practice and understanding is concerned, and does not go into great depth with its case studies. For the managerial businessperson seeking a more genuinely connected and beneficial existence at work, however, this primer can spark an interest in a new way of being that should be more consistently effective at advancing the common good.
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