ESSENCE: The third key “mind-shift” of business a better way through Integriosity^® captures a new way of thinking about the WHY of business–it is getting at the PURPOSE that flows from, and supports, an organization faithfully “doing right”.   The critical thing to remember about Mind-Shift #3 is “GREED IS NOT THE CREED“.   It is the most important–and probably the most difficult–of the five “mind-shifts”, because it requires changing the heart of the organization.  It involves the reversal of people and profits in their “business as usual” roles of a means and the end–putting profit in its proper place as a means rather than the PURPOSE.  With this “mind-shift”, the purpose of the organization becomes glorifying God by serving people to maximize human flourishing.  Leading an organization to faithfully “do right” through business a better way requires mind-shifts that lead to heart-shifts, both in the leaders and in the organization.  

In post #066 we introduced the five key “mind-shifts” of business a better way thinking that are the gateway to moving into the RE-IMAGINE process of Integriosity^®, and in our last two posts (#067 and #068) we explored:

• • Mind-Shift #1 – rethinking the WHAT of faith-work integration (“Faith Can’t Fit Into Work”) – PRINCIPLE
  • Mind-Shift #2 – rethinking the WHO necessary for faith-work integration (“You Are Not What You Do”) – PERSON.

Mind-Shift #3 is about rethinking the “WHY” of business–it is getting at the PURPOSE that flows from, and supports, an organization faithfully “doing right”.

“MIND-SHIFT #3”–Purpose Needed for Faith-Work Integration

We have talked A LOT about PURPOSE in prior posts.  We have looked at the problem with Profit as Purpose (e.g., post #013 and post #017) as well as the purpose that flows from the first principles of Kingdom (post #052) and Love (post #057).  As with all the “mind-shifts”, we believe there are two common (and misguided) views as well as what we call the RENEWED view.

• World View:  There is not just one “world” view of the PURPOSE of business.  In fact, the cultural view of the appropriate purpose for business has shifted over time and keeps shifting.  In post #013 we talked about the shift that occurred in the 1970’s from a “stakeholder” model being predominant to a “shareholder primacy” model (thank you Milton Friedman for that shift).  In post #011, we looked at various societal trends that are in line with pursuing a bigger WHY for business and pushing a shift back to a “stakeholder” model.  Let’s keep it simple and reduce the “world” view to three variations:
  • Classic:  This is the view espoused by Milton Friedman that has been the predominant view in the United States since the 1970’s.  The only legitimate purpose of business is to maximize profit for shareholders.  This has often focused on “short-term” profits, with management held to quarterly expectations and incentivized.
  • Enlightened:  As we mentioned, there has been a push in recent years to move back toward a “stakeholder” model.  For example, in 2019, the Business Roundtable did an about-face by announcing that businesses should be committed to meeting the needs of all their stakeholders (since 1997, the Business Roundtable had endorsed a “shareholder primacy” view of corporate responsibility).  When rhetoric is pushed aside, this views justifies serving all stakeholders because it maximizes long-term value.  It is still about the bottom line (i.e., Profit as Purpose), but with a longer-term view.
  • Social Good.  This approach says that a business should serve all stakeholders because it is a socially responsible approach.  The emergence of the “B-Corp” model reflects this approach in a legalistic way (which we actually believe is counterproductive to “business a better way” because it involves the government in overseeing the pursuit of a company’s broader goals and, more importantly, reinforces the faulty claim that other corporations can legally only pursue the maximization of profit).  Social good is also the rhetoric of the Enlightened view, but in that case “long-term value” is always the ultimate justification.

• “Faith as Usual” Views.  As explained in prior posts, a common characteristic of the “faith as usual” Side Roads is that they involve the integration of faith and work without changing the heart of the organization–it is still “business as usual” with Profit as Purpose being the ultimate true WHY.  This is true of Individualizing, Monetizing, Cosmeticizing, and Prosperitizing.

• The “Renewed” View.  The critical thing to remember about Mind-Shift #3 is “GREED IS NOT THE CREED”.  It is the most important–and probably the most difficult–of the five “mind-shifts”, because it requires changing the heart of the organization.  It involves the reversal of people and profits in their “business as usual” roles of a means and the end–putting profit in its proper place as a means rather than the PURPOSE.  With this “mind-shift”, the purpose of the organization becomes glorifying God by serving people to maximize human flourishing.  Until a leader gets their head turned around on this one, REAL Re-Imagining and REAL Re-Alignment is not possible.  If you have been reading our posts, Mind-Shift #3 is obvious.
  • Organizations (including businesses) are platforms that facilitate humans working together in relationship–living out their purpose to use their skills to love each other through service (post #056).
    • 1 Peter 4:10 says we are called to use our gifts to “serve one another” as good stewards of those gifts.  Ownership or leadership of an organization is a gift to be stewarded.
    • 1 Peter 4:11 goes on to say that, ultimately, we are to use our gifts to glorify God.  Like all creation, the ultimate purpose of any organization of humans is to glorify God.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

• • Humans were meant to reflect Imago Dei (post #047) and fulfill the Creation Mandate to promote flourishing (post #046).  In the words of James Hunter:

People fulfill their individual and collective destiny in the art, music, literature, commerce, law and scholarship they cultivate . . as they reflect the good of God and his designs for flourishing.

• • If the flourishing of humans is the PURPOSE of organizations made up of humans, then profit MUST become a means rather than an end.
    • Only One Real PURPOSE.  Profit cannot be one of several “ends”. A Biblical principle is that only one “end” is the real “end”. (“No one can serve two masters“, Matthew 6:24).  The goals and priorities described as other “ends” of the organization (e.g., treating people well) are likely just means to the real “end”, which means they will be sacrificed if they no longer serve the real “end” or if they jeopardize the real “end”.  Leaders who want their organization to faithfully “do right” must get honest about the real WHY of the organization. (Post #059)
    • Profit as Purpose=People as Tools.  If profit is the PURPOSE, then people are, by definition, tools of production to be used as efficiently as possible.  Treatment of people will be about doing “less bad” where it is believed to increase profitability.
    • Organizations Manage to PURPOSE.  Whatever is an organization’s PURPOSE (maximizing profit or serving people), that becomes the key metric for decision-making and the key motivation for action.

Leading an organization to faithfully “do right” through business a better way requires mind-shifts that lead to heart-shifts, both in the leaders and in the organization.  Anything less can bring the the missed purpose for organizations, the missed calling for leaders, the missed flourishing for people and the increased misery that was explained in Post #036.

We believe it is time for business a better way in alignment with Biblical values and priorities–it is time to begin faithfully “doing right” through Integriosity.

SPOILER ALERT:  In the second step of Integriosity–RE-IMAGINE–the first priority is re-imagining PURPOSE through Vision, People and Profit .

PERSONAL NOTE (from PM):  One of the hardest parts of writing this post was selecting the highlighted quote, because I have collected so many wonderful quotations about the “proper” purpose of business.  Here are some of the others I love (and almost used in this post!)–which would you have picked?

• • • The pursuit of profit at the expense of our humanity is too high a price to pay.  (Seth Godin)
    • Use money and love people. Don’t love money and use people.  (Joseph Prince)
    • We must put business to work in service to human need rather than human greed. (Chris Houston)
    • Since God intensely values each person, we should serve the people we lead, seeing them as ends, not means, in accomplishing work.  (Greg Leith)
    • When you put money first and the spirituality second, you actually reverse the entire order ofcreation. You put the effect before the cause, the result before the process, the coinage before the content, the profit before the purpose.  (Michael Shevack)
    • The real goal of business is to serve others to the glory of God. (Ken Eldred)
    • What’s needed is relatively clear: it’s deep reflection on your corporate identity—what you really stand for—which may well lead to material changes in your strategy and even your governance (such as your status as a public company, a private company, or a public benefit corporation).  McKinsey

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Photo Credit: Original photo by Emile Perron on Unsplash
(photo cropped)