Zohar, Danah, Marshall, I. N., Zohar, Danah, and Marshall, I. N.
Subjects
Values, Organizational behavior, and Corporate culture
Abstract
Our capitalist culture and the business practices that operate within it are in crisis. Capitalism as we know it today—an amoral culture of short-term self-interest, profit maximization, emphasis on shareholder value, isolationist thinking, and profligate disregard of long-term consequences—is an unsustainable system, a monster set to consume itself.Danah Zohar and Ian Marshall argue that a critical mass of individuals acting from higher motivations can make a difference. They offer a radically new philosophy for corporate governance that alters the meaning and purpose of business and wealth creation. They describe a values-based business culture that focuses on the accumulation of “spiritual capital” rather than material capital. Rather than strictly benefiting shareholders, spiritual capital benefits all stakeholders—including the whole human race, present and future, and the planet itself. Spiritual capital nourishes and sustains the human spirit. Danah Zohar and Ian Marshall introduce the concept of spiritual intelligence (SQ), and describe how it can be used to shift individuals and our culture from a state of acting from lower motivations (fear, greed, anger, and self-assertion) to one of acting from higher motivations (exploration, cooperation, power-within, mastery, and higher service). They show how this shift actually happens in a given organizational culture. They look in depth at the issues that dominate corporate culture and examine the role of the leadership elite who must be the ones to bring about and embody this cultural shift. Finally, Zohar and Marshall argue that spiritual capital is a valid and workable form of capitalism and detail what we, as individuals, can do to make it happen.
"Corporate structures, like the physical and biological structure of the human brain, operate from one of three individually distinct but intricately interrelated systems: mental, emotional, and spiritual. The healthiest organizations, like the healthiest minds, learn to respond and adapt to external stimuli through a well integrated union of all three structures rather than a single, rigid approach. Business models, however, primarily neglect emotional and spiritual components in their operations, placing emphasis instead on efficiency, results, and other qualities readily associated with the mental structure alone. With only one-third of the corporate brain utilized, the remaining two-thirds present a vast reserve of ideas and opportunities for responding creatively to the daily demands of corporate life." "Rewiring the Corporate Brain offers a new way to think about, lead, and structure organizations for fundamental transformation. It demonstrates how people must change the thinking behind their thinking - i.e., rewire the structures of the corporate brain - to operate more fully and achieve genuine fundamental organizational change." "Written for managers at all levels, Rewiring the Corporate Brain takes its lead from quantum, chaos, and the latest brain sciences to offer practical, accessible, and inspiring alternatives to traditional structures in corporate design, practice, and implementation."--Jacket.
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