An evolving dialogue on the purpose of business as a force for good
VISION
Model how one woman can spark the power of bringing together many women in the business ecosystem and be a force for good that inspires change. The purpose of business has changed, with a focus on mutuality and lifting all boats equally. Capitalism can live up to its potential to elevate humanity by teaching, sharing and living the tenets of Conscious Capitalism with a goal of increased corporate profitability, success and resiliency that benefits all stakeholders.
WHY CHANGE IS NEEDED
Capitalism as it functions today is not working. The Covid-19 pandemic, our economic crisis, and continued call for racial and social justice has brought an increased awareness of why business must change. Our urgency to improve our business practices and model effective leadership, escalated. Businesses can’t create all the change needed, but they can play a major role. The world deserves it, the Millennial talent and future generations demand it.
We see the recent ‘perfect storm’ of events as an opportunity. An opportunity to create the change in how we manage and lead corporations. How Capitalism itself needs to continue to evolve. Conscious Capitalism is a way of thinking about capitalism and business that better reflects where we are in the human journey, the state of our world today, and the innate potential of business to make a positive impact on the world. (For other references, see additional content that will provide clarity.)
The Firms of Endearment book documented the financial success of organizations that adopt the tenets of Conscious Capitalism and how they outperform the S&P 500 by 14 times! It’s far more than feel-good methodology, it yields increased profitability and business resiliency. The ideals also are in alignment with espoused Millennial values – also part of this ‘perfect storm’ as Millennials are fast becoming the largest business demographic.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Our efforts will increase awareness and help redefine the purpose of business to elevate humanity for the benefit of all by connecting influential San Diego women and men that want to support the inclusive, diverse San Diego business climate through mentoring, events and speaking engagements. We can educate future generations by teaching our youth these principles. Below are some of the efforts we envision that will foster a more conscious business ecosystem in support of social justice, gender parity and economic equality through entrepreneurism.
We want to start by increasing awareness within these groups:
Girl Scouts - Teach the fundamentals of Conscious Capitalism with an end result of earning a GS CC badge. 52% of GS alums are business leaders; we see the opportunity to facilitate change and impact by teaching these values to young
Black Business Community - Work with the CSDBCC to introduce the principles of CC to members, support educational sessions, share stories with leaders of businesses practicing CC in their organizations and facilitate business
EDC - Work with the EDC to spread the message of CC, share stories, and support educating SD businesses around CC tenets. Their mission is to maximize the San Diego region’s economic prosperity and global How can CC help the EDC accomplish this?
Other future awareness building groups:
San Diego Universities UCSD, PLNU, CSUSM, SDSU)
Other Chambers of Commerce in SD
Better Business Bureau
Various business and professional organizations (Chairman’s Roundtable, Women of Influence, NAIOP)
Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.
~ Thich Nhat Hanh
WHO ARE THE MANY WOMEN?
Lee Wills - Head of Talent and Acquisition for Sony. Serves on the board of the CSDBCC (Central San Diego Black Chamber of Commerce). At Sony, Lee is responsible for creating talent acquisition strategies to ensure that Sony has the talent to meet current and future business plans. She leads initiatives with senior business leaders to develop and leverage strategies that increase employee engagement and support company goals. Over the course of her 25- year career, she’s also served as the Global Director of Inclusion and Diversity at Intel and in similar roles at Qualcomm. She has a keen focus on elevating Black Entrepreneurs through the mentoring, training programs offered thru CSDBCC and understands the values and increased success when organizations encompass the tenets of CC. She noted the guiding principles of CC are in alignment with Sony’s.
Rashmi Char - Vice President, Engineering for Qualcomm. Rashmi serves on the Athena board and the Girl Scout board and deeply cares about gender parity, wants to learn more about CC and sees the potential to teach girls these values, encourage entrepreneurism with a focus on careers in STEM.
Kori Joneson – President of the Conscious Capitalism San Diego chapter, Principal of Symbio Strategies, a firm that partners with business leaders to better understand and support employee experiences, selection, and development. Kori utilizes a uniquely human approach to how to value and empower individuals within an organization. Kori and DeLinda meet virtually every two weeks and are crafting the San Diego roadmap to raise awareness of the CC movement, encourage organizations on how and why they should adopt the CC principles to attract and retain Millennial talent.
Laura Hall – She has spent most of her business career in the fashion industry, helping to steer famous brands like Burberry and Polo Ralph Lauren. Laura left her last corporate role as president of accessories for Polo Ralph Lauren to pursue her dedication as co-founder of WHYZ Partners to help others and make a difference for companies building brands. As the author of The ABCs of Conscious Capitalism for KIDs and a new permanent San Diego resident, Laura is interested in helping spread the tenets of CC to the SD community and beyond.
DeLinda Forsythe – CEO/Founder of ICE, a conscious business enterprise and author of upcoming January 2021 book Inspiring Generational Leadership: Create Space to Transcend Ordinary that shares the ICE journey of how we have inspired generational leadership especially amongst Millennial women to improve the work and personal lives of ICE teammates. She has a personal goal to elevate the SD business community by living her purpose statement “Doing well and doing good need not and should not be mutually exclusive.”
Linda Burritt - Co-founder of Mapigator, a technology company with a passion to support people of all abilities to navigate their communities in finding accessible and inclusive businesses. She serves on the board of Conscious Capitalism San Diego and has been involved with the Girl Scouts organization for many years.
And YOU – we don’t know you yet but we know you want to contribute!
August 2020 - Ongoing. A collaboration of women leaders