'Bonus vs Pro Bono' - responses to presentations

• There is evidence that people want to open up to the spiritual in business and community life but don't know how to. The evidence suggests they are interested in spirituality rather than institutionalised religion.
• Religion and spirituality have been sidelined by secularism. A change of mindset is needed to overcome the common reaction of drawing back when religion or spirituality are raised.
• We need to find the place to outsource leadership with spirituality and to get leaders thinking spiritually. Obama is an example of a leader with a depth of spirituality.
• One issue to overcome is that of inadvertently causing offence. Potential for conflict exists because people don't know how to react to, for example, Muslim or Jewish women.
• Faith groups can assist in community empowerment by providing ways in to communities. Faith groups define identity for some and help their members grow into leadership. We also need to consider how people with no religious faith view spirituality. Sacred spaces in, for example, hospitals need to be places which are open to those with no religious faith.
• We have a responsibility of stewardship towards the planet and its peoples. Our legacy can be one of countering a system which depresses people's expectations in order to raise and exceed expectations.
• The first Muslim was a woman. Mohammad (pbuh) worked for a woman. Half of the first delegation of Muslims were women. 
• We are often too cautious through fear of giving offence. Muslims, for example, are not offended by Christians wearing crucifixes.
• Spirituality outside of organised religion is the common ground which creates space for dialogue and which has been the starting point for us in our discussions.
• Spirituality equals meaning. I have been influenced by David Bohm who identified ways in which we  misperceive time and space in everyday life. These are the two geometrics that I seek to draw in my wave drawings.
• Religion and spirituality are different poles or spectrums of the same concept and are not often valued. Talk about spirituality often alludes to a sense of difference.
• Spirituality can be a driver for better, more meaningful work. What helps people cope in business is often their value systems.
• For me, Bonus vs Pro Bono means personal benefit vs public good. The faiths commonly value giving to the wider community. St Martin-in-the-Fields is a church which runs a business with the profits funding its work with homeless people. There remain tensions around the way in which these go together.
• The mid-term elections have seen a person of faith (Obama) being slammed for not having sorted out the economy. Baroness Uddin has been criticised as a result of the Standards and Privileges Committee findings. Peter raised the issue of tolerance of imperfection. What happens when the inspiration provided by spiritual leaders is called into question?
• Faith traditions are often perceived as having disempowered women. What can women bring to such traditions?
• The Apprentice may define a part of the issue we are discussing in that it is a competition with one winner which operates on the basis of team exercises. There is an inherent tension in the programme between personal gain and collaborative working which may be symptomatic of the business world.
• Concepts of partnership can be found both in Islam and in the Co-operative movement. Shared equity is not a zero sum game. Such models work but we have moved away from them in our economy.
• A business contribution that benefits the community/wider society may be an attractive concept in the current environment.
• Success could be understood in terms of legacy - taking people with us through empowerment - but this is not valued within society, although this may be beginning to change. 
• Those who opted to work in the public sector wouldn't have gone into it in order to cut it. A big political tension currently is the Big Society in relation to the recession.
• The thought that 'bigger is better' has been a part of all our lives and we need to see a new way of sharing resources.
• We don't see spirituality as a resource, instead we see it as a stance. We need to understand spirituality as a resource for seeing higher purpose and for seeing our fellow human beings in a better way.
• Inspirational CEOs are cutting their own salaries.
• Buildings are intractable things to cut.
• Jesus told the parables of the lost sheep and lost coin. Of leaving 99 sheep in order to go after the lost one. However, this was done for the sake of the 100. The 99 were not whole if the one was not with them. The story speaks about the connectedness of us all. We need to think more collaboratively so that no one falls over the edge. Risky efforts have to be made to stop the one from going over the edge; a judgement has to be made about care for the 99 or for the one.
• The House of Lords was founded on feudalism. The history of the UK is built on inequity. There is a question to be asked about whether 'the great and the good' cover up or institutionalise inequity.
• Huge cuts are coming in health and social services. It wasn't hunky dory before the cuts and a debate is needed about how to share.
• I can't be happy if you are unhappy or I can't be safe if you are unhappy, which may be closer to Amartya Sen's phrase. The well being of the least for the well being of all. 
• The dead space and human capital freed up by cuts could be used as an incubator for micro or social enterprises.
• Spiritual leaders are the opposite of short-termism, yet leaders in the NHS are often only there for 18 months or so. Faith groups bring the long perspective and a wider awareness of time.
• It is difficult to stay with this territory. Act local, think global. Act in some way for the common good - credit unions, community gardens etc.
• Empirical evidence (a business case) exists for the benefits of workplace spirituality. Once enough pieces have been fitted into the puzzle a paradigm shift will be seen.
• How leaders handle cuts is an expression of spirituality; how they explain cuts, how they engage others with cuts instead of simply imposing cuts.
• Big bonuses for big bosses don't speak in that way.
• The celebration of community groups coming together is needed. Co-production is needed; the public sector and community groups together.  
• Mozambican artists have made powerful sculptures from weapons. We need symbolic representations of our issues.
• These ideas could be shared with Guilds and Livery Companies. These began for the benefit of ordinary traders but have in some senses become the reverse of their original purpose. 
• The City has a centre for interfaith relations in the St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace and a centre for spirituality in the London Centre for Spirituality. There is also the City Circle within the Muslim community. This may leave scope for a Centre for business ethics and spirituality which could also have an artistic dimension exhibition art, architecture and artefacts and creating visual representations of ethics and economics. This idea may be of interest to the Prince of Wales or could be linked to the space on the Olympic Park that had been proposed as a Mosque site.            

'Profit vs Prophet': seminar 1 summary

Presentations from  Mannie Sher (Tavistock Institute), Abigail Morris (ResponseAbility) and Harmander Singh provided a rich variety of perspectives on and approaches to the topic 'Profit vs Prophet: making money and making a difference, are they opposed?', as well as clearly demonstrating the relevance of faith traditions in grappling with the issues.

Mannie Sher began with the Biblical prophets, and the prophet Micah in particular, sketching out the context into which they spoke and highlighting the way in which they demonstrated the courage to denounce the corruption of rulers, sympathise with the poor and call for justice as being the essence of God's demands. The prophets however were opposed to excessive and unequal profits, and not profit per se. In an Agrarian society, production cannot be solely for immediate consumption, some produce must be stored for future planting and a contemporary equivalent may be the division of one third for direct costs, one third for indirect costs and one third as profits for future investment. Time is a key factor as profiteers seek to shorten work processes to maximise profits and are solely concerned with profits in the present rather than investment for the future.

Current research undertaken with Alison Gill seems to suggest that bankers are currently inhabiting a bubble where their only talk is of investments and decisions are made solely on the basis of how much a particular investment has increased. In speaking about the banking crisis they seemed only able to talk in terms of headline phrases and seem unsure of how to judge their part in a systemic failure. The system is drunk on debt and has distorted negatives into positives, so that 'Greed is good'. A middle way is needed which understands that money is more than the value of the things we buy as it is also a vehicle for our fantasies (conscious imagination) and phantasies (inner unconcious). We need both prophets and profiteers in order to marry the wisdom, humility and care of the prophets to the wit and acumen of the profiteers.

Abigail Morris provided a different model for translating the wisdom of the Jewish tradition into the contemporary business world by utilising the insights of psychological and sociological research into wellbeing. Research demonstrates that beyond what is, in the West, a minimal level of wealth (£20,000 per annum) levels of well being do not increase with income. Levels of well being for those with wealth are reduced by surrounding poverty and levels of mental ill health are also high and rising in the affluent West. Positive psychology impacts on wellbeing, including health and longevity.

Based on such scientific evidence, the new economics foundation has created a set of five simple actions which can improve well-being in everyday life. These have clear corrollaries to teaching within Judaism: Give (Tzedakah) - being a volunteer and giving to charity has consistently been shown to be hugely beneficial, both mentally and physically; Connect (Kehilah) - people cope better if they are part of community networks and possess strong relationships with friends and family; Be Active (P’ilot v’kasher) - exercise is not just about physical health, but mental wellbeing as well; Keep Learning (Torah) - learning new skills stimulates the mind and can have long term benefits in reducing your chances of developing dementia or alzheimer’s; and Take Notice (Tefilah) - reflecting on your surroundings and your feelings can help you to appreciate what matters to you most. To these, and based on the work of Martin Seligman, ResponseAbility add Gratitude (Berachot) as studies have shown that if people take time at the end of every day to reflect on things that have gone well there is a marked increase in well-being. It is worth oting that none of these steps towards well being are about making money. Instead, the scripture says, "choose life, that you may live."

Harmander Singh noted that the Sikh Gurus bestowed upon the Sikhs the concept of "Miri-Piri" and "Raj Jog" which is princely living according to Gurmat (Guru's teaching/thinking) and therefore attuned to the Almighty. Miri-Piri is the balance between Spiritual and Temporal living and is denoted by the two crossed swords in the Sikh symbol, the Khanda. All Sikhs are encouraged to be householders but this does not mean becoming property developers or Peter Rachman's. It is acceptable to be rich as long as you live according to the principles of Gurmat and not indulge in un-Sikh businesses or those businesses which force you to a life that is anything but "honest living."  

Here, the three basic principles of Sikhi always apply.  These are: Naam Japna, Kirat Karni and Vand ke Shakna. Naam Japna is to remember God lovingly during all waking moments. Kirat Karni means making an honest living that is according to Gurmat living. Selling alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs, and being in the adult entertainment business are activities which Gurmat strictly forbids. Vand Ke Shakna is to share with others, especially the needy and vulnerable. As there is no Welfare State equivalent worth mentioning in certain parts of the world and certainly not in the times gone by, Sikhs donate (Daswandh or Darshan Pehta) whatever they can from their earnings to the Gurdwara – which is more than just a place for congregational worship as it provides a centre where support of all kinds can be sought either directly or signposted.

Among the responses made by seminar participants to these presentations were the following:

• There needs to be a relationship between the systems we inhabit and our human emotions. Systems need to accommodate the expression of emotion and imagination.
• Wealth can feed a feeling of omnipotence but common wealth can equal common well being and is similar to the concept of shalom.
• Often we begin with the present situation and apply theology to it. This is secondary theology. Primary theology begins with God's economy and challenges the current situation. Primary theology sees most Western life as built on the exploitation of others.
• Change is afoot as organisations recognise that in order to gain business you also have to contribute to society. Corporate Social Responsibility is one aspect of this change.
• We need to explore the idea of common wealth, which was there in the Early Church but was quickly lost as the Church became a defender of private property. Wealth is a gift from the Almighty; a loan to us with a duty to ensure that everyone beefits according to their need.
• Society promotes greed and consumption; we all bear responsibility for this and need to learn to live within our means. Small businesses and enterpreneurs can signal a different approach to that of the multi-nationals.
• Money has been fantasy since Nixon delinked the dollar from gold. We have experienced hyper-Capitalism from this point onwards. 

Questions arising from our discussion included:

• How to define excess?
• Who will be our Micah?
• Our use of discernment questions developed by the Amish Community: Is it useful for our community? Is it doing God's work? 

These and other questions will be discussed further through this blog and at the subsequent seminars. The next seminar is Bonus vs Pro Bono which will explore the place of inspirational leadership in renegotiating 'value'. Speakers are: Peter Hyson (Change Perspectives), Bruce Irvine (Grubb Institute), and Baronness Uddin. The seminar will take place on Thursday 4th November, 4.00 – 6.30pm, St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ. Cost: £5.00. To register, phone 020 8599 2170 or email jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.

L'Chaim : To Life

ResponseAbility’s project over the next year is called ‘L’Chaim : To Life’. Abigail Morris, ResponseAbility's Director, will be speaking about this project in Profit vs Prophet, the first in our seminar series entitled Renegotiating 'value'. To get a preview of the project click here.

In introducing the project, ResponseAbility write:

"What it means to live a good life lies at the heart of this project. The theme of life pulsates through Judaism; it is, most would say, its fundamental tenet. We may be unclear about life after death but we are very clear about life. We hope for a long life, and a good life – a life that embraces the here and now. Judaism is fundamentally about giving us pointers as to how to achieve this.

ResponseAbility is exploring this theme in a way that is both thought provoking and groundbreaking. The simple questions ‘what does it mean to lead a good life?’ and ‘how does one live a good life?’ underpin Judaism. These questions are now being asked across various disciplines. Cutting edge philosphers, pyschologists, economists and even epidemiologists are already addressing this issue.

Lying at the heart of these ideas are the ethics of the Jewish tradition. For example, Shabbat, the idea of a day not being a producer or a consumer. A day not working has been accepted in the Western world but shoppins is seen as a leisurely pursuit. Tzedakah, the idea of sharing wealth and giving to charity, and Tefilah, reflection on positive aspects of life. Mitzvah, being a volunteer and performing good deeds, and Kashrut, being aware of what we eat ...

ResponseAbility’s interest in this project grew out of the realisation that cutting edge scientists, such as positive psychologists, were producing work that was a secular version of much of Jewish teaching. ResponseAbility became aware that growing secularization meant this teaching was being lost and that this loss might be contributing to the rise in mental illness. It sees this as an opportunity to reclaim and popularise these ideas and help to help people lead better lives, better for themselves as individuals and better for society as a whole."
 
ResponseAbility will be working with both private sector and third sector organizations to examine what steps an employer would take to safeguard the wellbeing of its workforce. They will examine the creation of a Chartermark of Wellbeing for workplaces which would form part of the company’s annual report. The incentive for business, they argue, is the proven data about this reducing absenteeism, incapacity benefit (the biggest percentage of which is due to stress at work) and higher productivity. There is also research which shows much higher satisfaction of clients and customers of workplaces that really promote the wellbeing of their employees.