Living the Golden Rule in the Economy
Dialogue as a way to shape common action for an Inclusive Economic System.
This is a speech presented in Hong Kong at a global interfaith conference on how dialogue as an approach can shape corporate practices for inclusion and enhance competitiveness. My presentation about why we need to practice the concept of the golden rule in our economy was part of an overall presentation on the topic of Dialogue at Work. Here are the following parts:
Here is Part 3 with slides:
Dear friends, as you have heard, from our 15 years of experience of practicing dialogue as a global community of consultants and our experiences with the clients, it is clear to us that the principles of dialogue are extremely relevant and useful in our times. Since we are in the East, there is a saying in Chinese that we ought to recognize the source of the water.
And Consulus source, our methodologies were greatly inspired by Chiara Lubich’s thinking also known as the spirituality of unity. We have seen the effects of the spirituality of unity when it is practiced. How it transfigures each relationship from the transactional to something more exceptional, reaching the depths of being human, that feeling of connectedness with one another. I was once asked by a priest about what I do at work and I shared that I am fortunate to be on a journey that helps every organization discover that there is something sacred in what they do each day. Just like how we have experienced these days at this conference, an atmosphere of a divine fraternity.
Having said this, we live in an increasingly divided world; outside these walls, many relationships are frayed, divisions of all kinds are rising. A new shadow is being cast across the world. As people of faith, as a movement for dialogue, we ought to and must do something.
In 2017, when 1,000 members of the Economy of communion global network gathered in Rome for the 25th-anniversary celebration, Pope Francis met us and exhorted us to not be satisfied with what we have achieved but to do more. He said that if we wish to be faithful to the vision of Chiara, it is not enough to be just a good Samaritan but aim to change the rules of the socio-economic system. The Pope is wise to acknowledge that poverty alleviation is a complex matter and that giving alone is not enough, and that we need to change the rules to level the playing field, to give a chance for every child to thrive equally. Why is the call of the Pope so important?
Because we can actually end poverty today but the current system and rules are not incentivized to do so and in some circumstances prevent inclusion. We have more than enough houses but they are built in the wrong places and most are built for people who already have a house. In China alone, there are more than 50 million houses that are unoccupied.
We have more than enough food but most foods end up as waste instead of being distributed to the ones in need. In Scotland, 600,000 tonnes of food are thrown away every year[1]. This amount of food, which could feed approximately 1.2 billion poor people, represents almost a third of household waste. At least 4.7 million people in the UK are in food poverty.
We live in an age where we are spending more money on attempting to kill each other rather than on basic necessities such as water, sanitation, integration of migrants. Last year, global military spending was US$1.7 trillion dollars.
In other words, the system that we live in is a system of excess for the few, it is not designed to share opportunities or is it sustainable. Which is why Pope Francis is calling for an innovative approach to the economy, an idea that Chiara proposed that we do in 1991 in Sao Paolo when she launched the economy of communion.
But to talk about change is easy. The World Economic Forum(WEF) in Davos has just concluded, they do know how to talk about change and they do it with style every year. In addition to the WEF, we have all sorts of high profile forums such as TED to share ideas about change so there is no shortage of ideas.
But while we are rich with ideas, we suffer from deep poverty of trust and relationships to put them into common action. From within politics to the division between non-profit and for-profit sectors, we have widely differing visions for the world. What we need is the kind of dialogue that we are familiar with in the interreligious world where we are respectful of our differences but we are able to dialogue to strengthen trust, understanding to the point of finding common spaces to collaborate.
After reflecting deeper on Pope Francis call in 2017, our firm understood that beyond just doing our part for the poor, we need to think of creative ways to strengthen and spread the thinking of the Economy of communion. And one way is to introduce the method of dialogue so as to build stronger alliances to shape a united economy.
First, we started within the network of the economy of communion to strengthen our unity within the network.
We launched a programme with the National Association of EOC in Brazil(Anpecom) to help micro-enterprises in Brazil find purpose and transform their business model for the future. This programme will also help finance the work of Anpecom.
Then we started a new global leadership programme with Sophia University in Loppiano to shape a new kind of leadership thinking one that will know how to interpret the needs of the time, shape dialogue for common solutions. This programme as a concept has received the endorsement of a think-tank in the US. Two other universities, one state, and one Catholic will be coming on board to bring this programme to the US.
Then in June this year, we are holding an economic summit supported by a government agency in Singapore to imagine new ways to dialogue and shape an inclusive economy.
Lastly, if we truly wanted to change the rules of the economic system then we need to strive to change the consulting industry. Management consultants are powerful influencers of public and private policy and economic action. And many of the large consulting firms such as McKinsey and KPMG have been accused of aiding the continuation of abusive economic practices. If we are serious about having a deep impact then we ought to strive and become a large and positive alternative. That means we cannot content with being a small and purposeful band of good-minded consultants.
So we updated our constitution to aim and become the world’s largest network of purpose-driven consultants. In our governance model, we operate in a similar way like the European Union model so we put it to a vote and our principal consultants in the network from 14 countries unanimously endorsed it. This a huge shift because that means if a large company would like to change its abusive practices towards that of shaping a better world, we will be in a position to offer them our global solutions, help them think purposefully and help them transfigure their business model for good.
What we learned since 2017, is that there are a lot of people eager to come together and work for a better and more inclusive economy. The key is how to nurture an atmosphere of dialogue which really has to start from the foundation of the golden rule which is to do to others what we want others to do unto us.
Recently Pope Francis and Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar’s recent landmark document in the UAE on Human Fraternity provides a comprehensive guideline for improving trust and reconciliation that we should take seriously and put into practice.
Collectively we should be using our reach and influence to make it work. During the speech before this document, Pope Francis said:
“The time has come when religions should more actively exert themselves, with courage and audacity and without pretense, to help the human family deepen the capacity for reconciliation, the vision of hope and the concrete paths of peace,”
Looking around this hall, we should respond to the Pope creatively, on how we can nurture a hundred partnerships to influence the world to reconcile, dialogue with respect and shape an economic system that unites. Perhaps we should sign the document too and send a message to Pope Francis and the Grand Imam that we are with them to shape a better world. Shall we?
About Lawrence Chong
Lawrence shares about his experiences of helping leaders, companies, cities transform for Industry 4.0 to enable innovation through purpose and unity. His passion is in shaping purpose-driven leaders, companies and smart cities that will contribute to shaping a better world.
He is the Co-founder and CEO of Consulus Global Network, an innovation consultancy with business management and multi-disciplinary design capabilities. Lawrence is a featured speaker at global events such as Innovation by Design, World Marketing Summit and World Brand Congress. He served as the Immediate Past President of Design Business Chamber Singapore. His thoughts on innovation and creativity appear in regional media such as Fortune, Nikkei Asian Review, Business Insider, Business Times, Marketing Magazine, Newsbase, Prestige Magazine, VTC10. In his personal capacity, he is a member of the Focolare, a movement in favor of building a united world through dialogue, economics, and politics.
About Consulus
Consulus is a global innovation consultancy with multidisciplinary business and design capabilities. Since 2004 the firm has served leaders, companies and cities in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania to meet their innovation needs through a unifying approach that integrates business strategy, organizational development and experience design. Clients include Teo Garments, BIBD, Goodrich Global, DST, Health City Novena, MTU and Sony.
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Applying our proprietary UNIFY methodology to redesign business models, organizational cultures, and brand experiences, we help our clients develop in-house capabilities so as to enable them to innovate more effectively and meet the complex challenges of the 4th industrial revolution.
Here are our FIVE SOLUTIONS FOR THE FUTURE ECONOMY
1. Business Transformation: PurposeCORE
2. Customer Experience Design: ExperienceCORE
3. Development or Smart City Solution: PlaceCORE
4. Digital Strategy: DigitalCORE
5. Leadership Transformation: LeadershipCORE
Our custom-design solutions have allowed our clients to increase revenue by over 138%, expand to overseas markets, develop new products and intellectual property and prepare the next generation of leaders to drive and sustain high-growth. Today, Consulites serve throughout Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. Consulus is a member of the Economy of Communion (EoC).
In 2013, Consulus launched World Company Day initiative to inspire companies to shape the world into a better place through daily work.