Are we concerned with finding meaningful work because our existence is threatened? A Q & A with author Steven J. Fogel:
Q: Right now there is a lot of talk about people finding more meaningful connections to work. "Conscious business"--work that is about meaning as well as money--comes up a lot. It seems like the "old way" of doing business isn't making people happy. As a businessperson and an author, what are your thoughts on this cultural shift? How can the principles you teach in your book help people find the connection to work that they crave?
A. I believe that the shift you're referring to is simply our collective response to the endless list of new threats: global warming, new diseases, our energy system backfiring on us, and the endless list of new terrors coming at us, saying to us that we need to fix those problems in order to survive as a species.
The 2012 consciousness says that we have to handle those problems first or else there will be nothing left, and that way of thinking spreads to everything, including business. It becomes the new collective consciousness, which finds a way to seep into everything.
That is why we are more conscious of meaning over money; it's connected to our collective sense of integrity. Doing our work with integrity means that we will find our work more fulfilling and we will also be fulfilling the needs of others. As more and more people do their business consciously, it will also contribute to problem solving on a global level.
The key is that nothing works without integrity, and now we're seeing that at every level of our existence.
Q: Right now there is a lot of talk about people finding more meaningful connections to work. "Conscious business"--work that is about meaning as well as money--comes up a lot. It seems like the "old way" of doing business isn't making people happy. As a businessperson and an author, what are your thoughts on this cultural shift? How can the principles you teach in your book help people find the connection to work that they crave?
A. I believe that the shift you're referring to is simply our collective response to the endless list of new threats: global warming, new diseases, our energy system backfiring on us, and the endless list of new terrors coming at us, saying to us that we need to fix those problems in order to survive as a species.
The 2012 consciousness says that we have to handle those problems first or else there will be nothing left, and that way of thinking spreads to everything, including business. It becomes the new collective consciousness, which finds a way to seep into everything.
That is why we are more conscious of meaning over money; it's connected to our collective sense of integrity. Doing our work with integrity means that we will find our work more fulfilling and we will also be fulfilling the needs of others. As more and more people do their business consciously, it will also contribute to problem solving on a global level.
The key is that nothing works without integrity, and now we're seeing that at every level of our existence.