you give away 90 per cent of your salary? Dan Price, CEO of Gravity Payments, did just that and shared it among his staff. It’s a commendable move but will it pave the way for wider pay equality? In April the CEO of a US tech company did something with barely any precedents in the modern business world. He gave away 90 per cent of his own pay to raise the salaries of his employees to a minimum $70,000 a year. Dan Price, CEO of Seattle-based Gravity Payments, recalls the moment when he announced the decision to his 120 staff: “There was a moment of stunned silence. Some people were looking around at each other, a few jaws had dropped, and then someone actually asked me... posted on Jun 5 2017 (34,931 reads)

the past ten months I have chaired and co-facilitated MIT’s IDEAS China program—a ten month innovation journey for a group of 30 or so senior Chinese business leaders. This year the IDEAS China program enrolled executives of a major state-owned Chinese bank. One goal of this team was to reinvent the future of their organization in the face of big data and other related disruptive changes, which provided me with a little more exposure to that aspect of the world economy. For example, Jack Ma, the visionary founder of Alibaba, says that “In five years, we anticipate that the human era will move from the information technology era to the data technology era.” But... posted on Oct 4 2017 (10,671 reads)

never too late to reinvent yourself. Take it from Paul Tasner -- after working continuously for other people for 40 years, he founded his own start-up at age 66, pairing his idea for a business with his experience and passion. And he's not alone. As he shares in this short, funny and inspirational talk, seniors are increasingly indulging their entrepreneurial instincts -- and seeing great success. I'd like to take you back about seven years in my life. Friday afternoon, a few days before Christmas 2009. I was the director of operations at a consumer products company in San Francisco, and I was called into a meeting that was already in progress... posted on Mar 11 2018 (55,985 reads)

in my line of work [of cultivating U.S. spies and thwarting foreign ones] … I’ve had to think not only in terms of convincing someone to do something, but inspiring them to want to do it. Luckily for me, I was surrounded by some great Jedi masters of interpersonal communication and leadership. I was able to synthesize what they were doing down from a subjective art form to a very cognitive [system]. Knowledge@Wharton: Cameron, is building trust a prevalent problem in business culture today? Cameron Stauth: Huge. Since the Great Recession alone, trust in America’s most fundamental institutions, which are business, government and media, dropped by a combine... posted on Feb 5 2018 (12,724 reads)

York Times bestseller The Untethered Soul and The Surrender Experiment. In 1971, while pursuing his doctoral work in economics, Michael experienced a deep inner awakening and went into seclusion to focus on yoga and meditation. In 1975, he founded the Temple of the Universe, a yoga and meditation center where people of any religion or set of beliefs can come together to experience inner peace. Through the years, Michael has made major contributions in the areas of business, the arts, education, healthcare, and environmental protection. With Sounds True, Michael Singer has created a new eight-week online course called Living from a Place of Surrender: th... posted on Dec 22 2017 (48,132 reads)

is more to life than increasing its speed. – Mahatma Gandhi It’s the status symbol no one talks about, woven into our work, play, homes, and family lives. It takes up space on our calendars, to-do lists, and endless roster of appointments and meetings. It can leave us exhausted or invigorated, constantly tugging at our drive to do more, give back, and leave our mark. It can be a source of increased stress and frequent complaints one minute, and unbridled joy the next. Busyness is the new currency by which we measure our success, our fulfillment, and ultimately, the richness of our lives. “In certain cultures, spending your time relaxing, spending your ti... posted on Dec 26 2017 (21,247 reads)

that you teach in all of your books?" That saying, "We tend to teach what we need to learn,"—I must have needed to learn a lot with 17 books. The answer to that question—"Have I mastered everything?"—is no. Absolutely not. But, I'm sincerely practicing and that's all I can ask of anyone. I'm probably a good example of what I've realized, embodied, and I teach. Not a perfect example, but a good one. If I weren't, I'd have no business talking about it. So, that's the first thing that comes to mind when you ask that. And if you could repeat the question, I would like to— TS: It had to do with "thes... posted on Jul 13 2018 (13,952 reads)

daily life that will enhance our personal well-being. For some inspiration, we decided to ask the experts—the researchers who are actually studying well-being—about their favorite happiness practices. Many of their nominations align with this year’s International Day of Happiness theme around relationships, kindness, and helping each other. You’ll also discover research-based happiness practices on our website Greater Good in Action. Jane Dutton, professor of business administration and psychology at the University of Michigan: My favorite research-based happiness practice is to be alert to high-quality connections (HQCs) that I have with other people... posted on Aug 8 2018 (23,797 reads)

well-being of all people, not Gross Domestic Product (GDP) or average national income. She advocates creating an economy that recognizes the interdependence of people with each other and the planet, and works toward achieving the goals of reducing inequality, sustaining the planet, and supporting a meaningful life for all people. In the economy she envisions, societies choose their social-environmental outcomes, while the government provides social services, structures markets, and regulates business in order to achieve these goals. In our current economic system, however, powerful private interests manipulate the economy and politics to maintain—and increase—their power and e... posted on Jun 22 2018 (9,221 reads)

follows is the transcript of an On Being interview between Krista Tippett and Michael McCarthy: KRISTA TIPPETT, HOST: I have rarely discovered a book that so delighted and galvanized me at once. The Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy is written by the English naturalist and journalist, Michael McCarthy. “The sudden passionate happiness which the natural world can occasionally trigger in us,” he writes, “may well be the most serious business of all.” We could stop relying on the immobilizing language of statistic and take up joy as a civilizational defense of nature. With a perspective equally infused by science, reportage, and poetry, he reminds u... posted on May 28 2018 (6,725 reads)

“You cannot join monks until you are nine. You have to wait.” So I waited, and I became a monk. It was all my own desire. It was not forced by anybody. I wanted to be a monk to find freedom from death. It sounds like even though your father died when you were four, and you left home when you were nine, your parents had an incredibly powerful impact on you and on the way you went on to lead your life. Your father, who was a trader, said that profit was just a way to keep the business going; his true motivation was in service to the community. Your father was a social entrepreneur before the term was invented! Yes, exactly. And my mother was an environmentalist and ecol... posted on Sep 11 2018 (10,006 reads)

worths through our own experiences in the coming century of destruction, and proclaim them loudly, as the reason why nature must not go down. Illustration by Matthew Forsythe from The Golden Leaf That most unquantifiable, most precious value of nature to human life, McCarthy insists, is the gift nestled in the responsibility — the gift of joy. He writes: Joy has a component, if not of morality, then at least of seriousness. It signifies a happiness which is a serious business. And it seems to me the wholly appropriate name for the sudden passionate happiness which the natural world can occasionally trigger in us, which may well be the most serious business of all.... posted on Aug 22 2018 (9,989 reads)

no idea just how warlike the United States has become relative to other countries—even those we consider threats, or rivals, like China, Russia, Iran, Pakistan, and North Korea. Again, I know you’ve written entire books on this subject, but please share some facts to give us a more accurate view of reality. Swanson: Most countries on Earth don’t spend anything like what the United States does in terms of war and war preparations. Part of the United States’ war business is weapons-dealing to the rest of the world. Three-quarters of the world’s dictatorships, by the U.S. government’s own definition of dictatorship, are buying U.S. weapons. It&rsqu... posted on Jan 28 2019 (6,289 reads)

this essay are excerpted from the book with permission from the publisher. Have you ever wanted to speak up about an issue or situation at work, but were afraid to? Or wanted to share something about yourself, but worried people might judge you? Or pretended to understand something professionally that you really didn’t? If you’re anything like me and most of the people I know, you could easily answer yes to some of these questions. However, to truly succeed in today’s business world, we must be willing to bring our whole selves to the work that we do. This means showing up authentically, leading with humility, and remembering that we’re all vulnerab... posted on Sep 30 2018 (8,302 reads)

shattered his lifelong ambition Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy chose an impossible new dream: to eliminate needless blindness. There are 37 million blind people in our world, and 80% of this blindness is needless -- meaning a simple operation can restore sight. By 1976 Dr. V (as he came to be known) had performed over 100,000 sight restoring surgeries. That same year, he retired from government service at the age of 58, and founded Aravind, an 11-bed eye clinic in south India. No money. No business plan. No safety net. Over the next four decades his humble clinic would defy the odds to become the largest provider of eye care on the planet. If you can’t come to them, they will c... posted on Oct 1 2018 (9,938 reads)

are lots of ways to lose your voice in this world...”   These words were spoken by Kevin Hancock,  an award-winning author, public speaker, and CEO of  Hancock Lumber, one of America’s oldest and most prestigious family businesses. Kevin is the winner of many distinguished awards including the Habitat for Humanity ‘Spirit of Humanity’ award, and the Boy Scouts of America Distinguished Citizen award.   In 2010, Kevin developed a voice disorder called spasmodic dysphonia.  As his speaking voice became quiet, the voice of his soul became louder. This new voice urged him to connect with the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, where h... posted on Nov 6 2018 (6,007 reads)

and scaling up of such relations possible. Thus, peer to peer enables a new mode of production and creates the potential for a transition to a commons-oriented economy.” The B Corp Handbook, Second Edition by Ryan Honeyman, Tiffany Jana  “B Corps are a global movement of more than 2,700 companies in 60 countries — like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, Kickstarter, Danone North America, and Eileen Fisher — that are using the power of business as a force for good. B Corps have been certified to have met rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. This book is the authoritative guide... posted on Apr 28 2019 (8,950 reads)

place. And then the place nurtures you and sustains you in a way. So how did Loving Earth come about? You arrive back in Australia from India. You must be, what? In your mid thirties? Yeah. Well, we went from India to Mexico. Oh okay. Why Mexico? This project that I’d been coordinating in India, it was a master plan for an area that involved quite a few building and infrastructure projects. And we needed funds to fund it. So we ended up doing a fundraising pitch to a Mexican businessman who we connected with at the time in the ashram. He had a very successful multi-level marketing company throughout Latin America. He really liked what we were doing and said, “Use bu... posted on May 19 2019 (5,611 reads)

women-led movement works to recruit, train, and support entrepreneurs who earn income by selling clean energy products directly to people without power. Since its founding in 2010, Solar Sister has reached over 1.5 million people across Africa with solar powered products and clean cookstoves, and kickstarted over 3,500 clean energy entrepreneurs. Solar Sister believes women are a key part of the solution to the clean energy challenge and aims to support those who aren’t reached by business-as-usual energy models. Solar Sister’s Communications Director Fid Thompson shares more about how gratefulness reverberates through this multi-dimensional approach to empowering women, ... posted on May 22 2019 (6,373 reads)

Do That? The Possibility of Rapid Transition, Andrew Simms and Peter Newell tell the story of Iceland’s 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, which sent fine dust into the sky that spread for thousands of miles and grounded most of the world’s planes. Then what happened? People adapted. Quickly. Supermarkets replaced air-freighted goods with local alternatives. People discovered other, slower ways to get around, or decided they didn’t really need to travel at all. People held business meetings online. The Norwegian prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, ran the Norwegian government from New York . . . with his iPad. This isn’t the only example. We might be focused these d... posted on Mar 19 2020 (10,763 reads)