Let the Body Catch Up with the Soul
Instead of widening the girth of the four core business pillars presented by risk, competition, profit, and property, we should consider connecting them with a sturdy seat on top, improving the stool’s comfort, stability, and reach. It may be time to combine old doctrines of business-capitalism by itself with often ancient but also newly emerging insights of wisdom and philosophy. Such a connection represents a new linkage with active connectivity of the soul of business.
In the court of Solomon, during the monarchic period of the 10th century BCE, Genesis 2:7 describes that a living soul denotes a living person. Loss of soul is loss of life. Shouldn’t a living soul also denote a living business? In the 8th century BCE, a royal official from Sam’al, named Kuttamuwa, ordered an inscribed stele erected upon his death. The inscription requested that his mourners commemorate his life and his afterlife with feasts “for my soul that is in this stele.”
If the soul is removed from a business, does or will the business die, or is the soul of business a separate entity, leading to a business either with or without the presence of a soul? Does the soul guide business to see and interpret itself, as already raised in the Bible? How does a soul-less business score as a whole? What is the role of timing and the soul—past, present, and future? Is there a pro-social, holistic, and humanistic effect of or by the soul? Does the role of the soul vary, both externally in the social sphere and internally in the management environment?
Christianity in the West has shed the light of Catholic moral tradition onto business ethics, with Christians endeavoring to do their duties honestly and going beyond what they must do diligently. They do not take actions simply because they can. Pope Benedict XVI wrote:
Christians oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life. The belief in the transcendent destiny of every human being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all.
The Anglican Church wrestles with the position of companies when addressing the theme of “can companies sin?” Taoism in the East emphasizes the necessity to consciously experience oneself, listen to both one’s inner voice and to the voice of the environment in a noninterfering and receptive manner. Lao Tzu tabled the concept of “Wu Wei,” literally translated as “non-doing”: If one leaves the people alone and lets them get on with it, social problems will resolve themselves because political interference is more often the cause of problems than their solution.
East or West, these wisdoms are inspiring the modern world and its value systems: slow down the steps of profit-making and let the soul forge new understanding. To have one or many souls isn’t some business skill that is “nice to have.” Rather, it provides guidance for companies to align their principles with a mission and a vision. A soul needs to be noticeable in an organization, affecting all members of the team and classifying for individuals, with almost automaticity of how business complexities will be resolved.