Higher Purpose in Business: Converting Personal Conscience Into 'Good Action'

by Lynn Hinderaker newbraska.com/credibility

Most businesspeople - no matter how linear, logical and materialistic they seem - come to a point where they wish they knew who they really were, what they are supposed to be doing and how to evolve to a place beyond mere achievement and the everyday fracas for profits, market share, productivity, etc.

They want to go beyond success to significance and they know it begins inside. However, there's a hitch.

The truth of man’s inner evolution is nothing if practiced by itself without any realization of its goal - which is the good action it leads to. The union of inner truth and external good action leads to bliss - not ordinary happiness, but a state which is complete and full in itself.

This union is 'self-creating' through its own power because it has the elements of truth and good, fused in union. From the fusion or marriage of these two elements, we attract the assistance of higher power.

But if we use the knowledge simply to bolster our relative position in life or to stoke our vanity and self-love, we lose the connection with the mystery of conjunction - of fusion.

Stir yourself to become a fusionary, an executive who can look deep inside while orchestrating external events. When you experience anger, envy or pride, remember these are indicators that you are operating at one level, driven by ego. Have compassion for yourself; compassion is a function of non-judgmental self observation that can - if you're lucky - lead to the cultivation of conscience.

(Author David Thomas, Ph. D., is an expert in business ethics, a timely topic closely related to the development of conscience. The theme of his book is that through the ethical comes self-realization which leads to organizational and societal growth. Available on Amazon.)

When conscience enters your psyche, it's like receiving a dignified gentleman at your front door, someone who deserves your profound respect, someone who quietly notices everything. With conscience embedded in your mind, you open the door to divine influence and its guidance in your everyday life. It's always spontaneous, mysterious and indirect. If you patiently stick with the general idea, you will eventually be presented with the ultimate, alchemical responsibility of humankind: to transform negativity into positivity at some level, in some subtle, profound way.

This is the 'good action' that many company leaders are trying to grasp as they are encouraged by the business press and trade associations to be 'socially responsible.' But very few realize that it actually requires a personal commitment to a form of executive development that is linked to a type of internal transformation that has nothing to do with cause and effect. Only when an executive wrestles with himself and views his toughest decisions in a new light can he unify outer and inner priorities and spearhead good action that has more to do with values than with value-creation.

Essayist Lynn Hinderaker is a dynamic speaker, consultant and talk show host who has 'made history' in five industries. 402-208-5519