Crossing the (moral) Chasm!

In the world we lived in, (notice the past tense), many of us faced this chasm that we dared not or could not cross, whether as individuals or as groups of people or as corporations. And each had its own width of the chasm to cross. And this chasm reflected in the dissonance we saw between what we said and what we did.

• Employees are our biggest assets
• Our commitment to the environment is paramount
• World Economic Forum speeches by leaders

Or for that matter the chasm between basic needs and desires. There was this meme that was doing the rounds on Social Media that said that the markets are plunging because man has started to buy only what he needs. In the past, desires drove us, enhanced by this phenomenon called gaslighting [1] that seeded into our minds the thought that its okay or in fact normal to aggressively pursue desires. The expectation post COVID is that there will be more of this gaslighting by all corporations seeking to accelerate an uptick in demand. Question is will we as consumers succumb or will we choose to cross the chasm and move towards fulfilling ONLY our needs?

Publicly listed corporations, stock markets, PEs, VCs etc also need to be able to cross the chasm between being solely focused on creating shareholder value to building a more rounded stakeholder value.

The past two months have given many of us the time to pause & to reflect. Do we really want the very same world back?

I hope not.

The dial will surely have moved a few clicks to narrow the chasm, but I doubt whether there will be an immediate significant change; because humans do not change fast and that's the nature of the beast. For the chasm to narrow, leaders in all spheres of life have to evolve. Actually its a good time as any for leaders to experiment with the process of making the inner journey - turning the searchlight inwards. Five years ago, a suggestion like this would have been debunked and the person laughed out of the room. A little less likely now, as it dawns on people that they are not the doers and that there are other more powerful forces at play in our lives. Even now, such a suggestion to try and make the inner journey will become a one time activity to be ticked off - there didn't I do it as you folks wanted me to; now lets get on with business?

Without world and business leaders becoming better humans, expecting the crossing of this chasm will not be realistic. And if the chasm continues to remain a yawning one, then similar circumstances could repeat in the future to chasten us. I think the Asura - Deva chasm needs to be swiftly crossed. (Read this article I published in January 2020, much before the pandemic engulfed us)

A very senior leader once told us, as the team celebrated the firm's going public - "Remember you are mounting a tiger. You will never be able to to get off it." Indeed an insatiable tiger who's demands are only increasing Quarter on Quarter, Year on Year and the only means to satisfy it is continuous growth in Revenue & Profits. 

With Government spending coming in to shore up economies & countries, maybe it's time to re-look at the current model of Capitalism. Nations will in any case try and become insular unfortunately. Free flow of manpower could get impacted wherever feasible. In any case much of the digital work can still be done from anywhere in the world. Conscious capitalism may result in some amount of stipulation for a more equitable distribution of wealth. In the past, closely held family managed corporations which were not listed on the stock exchanges tended to behave a little differently than listed firms. At the height of capitalism driven by the street, these firms were not considered fashionable, but the few that continued stoically, did manage a semblance of balance. They were never slaves to the dictates of the street. Maybe governments will encourage such firms. Firms that pursue mere market share and hence valuation may need to rethink their business model.

At the same time millennials must believe & adopt this process of crossing the chasm within themselves and also demand of their leaders a similar behavior shift. Maybe shun working for organisations where shareholder value creation is considered the Only metric for success. The transformation will not be overnight but a beginning would have to be made and now is the right time as any. Millenials are the future leaders of the corporations and the world and this chastening experience right at the start of their lives, I am certain is going to make a significant & positive impact on them.

The world will hopefully be in safer hands going forward.

References:

[1] https://forge.medium.com/prepare-for-the-ultimate-gaslighting-6a8ce3f0a0e0 (as retrieved from the website on 18th May 2020 at 1330 hours IST)