For many of us the 2008 recession left a lingering aftertaste of pessimism regarding the economy and particularly economic forecasts. Even with today’s hindsight, experts are strongly divided in determining what happened and how to prevent it from happening again. Many of the rest of us have simply adopted a “hope for the best” attitude.
Steve Overman’s latest book counters the resonating doubt and raises a call for a new and powerful optimism. “The Conscience Economy: How a Mass Movement for Good is Great for Business” presents the idea that coming fundamental economic changes may help that pessimism disappear.
Overman suggests that following the Great Recession, a global shift in economic thinking became pronounced. While technology was often the lynchpin for this shift, social connectivity and global interdependence drove new dimensions of consumerism. This shift is the next big step forward in driving business.
“Prioritizing the common good as a core purpose . . . is spreading through every realm of human endeavor, from politics to health care to international policy to finance,” Overman says. “But it is business that will be both most affected and simultaneously the most powerful actor and influencer.”
Every business wants to be a part of the next big thing, he says. The Conscience Economy is it, the author states simply.
Overman suggests nine emergent beliefs and motivations currently driving the conscience-driven economy:
Collective-Self Actualization: “What’s good for we is good for me.”
2. Optimism: “We can create a better world. So we will.”
3. Fairness: “Everyone has a right to live a great life. Everyone.”
4. Well-Being: “We expect to be and feel healthy in body, mind and spirit.”
5. Transparency: “We crave knowing everything, so if you don’t tell us, we’ll fi nd out for ourselves.”
6. Authenticity: “We see right though fake, so keep it real.”
7. Disruptive Irreverence: “Let’s turn it all upside down.”
8. Sensible Environmentalism: “If it’s bad for the planet, it’s not for us.”
9. Global Citizenship: “We are part of something bigger.”
What is radically different today is not one thing but many. Expansive population growth, global human rights movements, environmental conditions and especially technology are all drivers. Together they create what Overman calls a “major conflux” — a coming together of forces that are leading toward “a tipping point of signifi cant, possibly cataclysmic change.”
Overman urges companies to build a “telescope” of awareness to gain insight into these coming market factors. He encourages individuals and teams to synthesize observation with intuition to discern patterns that could develop into business activity.
That is Step One. To thrive in the Conscience Economy, a business must adapt and transform what it offers, how it produces, operates, sells and engages others. Transformation will become a core competency of successful businesses.
Adapting to the changes of the Conscience Economy requires commitment to make changes on many levels. It is not enough for businesses to tell employees to change. Leadership must invest in envisioning the future in ways that will create awareness across the organization, Overman says. The world is shifting so rapidly that the insights and foresights of every employee are needed in the business.
The role of brands will become highlighted in this new economy, the author notes. Brands are becoming more than indicators of price and efficacy. Brands trigger feelings — a gut response to everything the consumer knows about a particular company. As 80 percent of decision-making is emotional, branding plays the most important role in creating new business. In the Conscious Economy, consumers literally wear their values on their sleeves and in their pockets and on their kitchen tables.
Ignoring the impact that our purchasing has on others (including those producing the goods) and the planet will become more difficult as real-time information highlights these effects. If a product or service, the history of the company’s management, unethical or discriminatory practices creates negative implications, more and more consumers will reject them.
The Conscience Economy is no guarantee, Overman says. We have to want it as well as work for it. The alternative, a lack of vision, growing concern about potential global meltdowns and economic collapse stands in stark contrast to the growing trend for an enlightened and encouraging world. Overman is an optimist.
“Because we’re social by nature, humans have a tendency, in the end, to make life better for one another, not worse. We’ve never had a better opportunity to do just that on a mass scale than we do right now. And thanks to the unstoppable conflux, it’s never been more urgent.”