For the past 10 years, I’ve had this uneasy feeling that something vital to our way of life was about to break. Between climate change, political polarization, and the growing inequity between rich and poor, it often feels as if society is splitting at the seams. Hollywood has tapped into our global angst by issuing a spate of movies about dystopian futures.

My uneasiness grows when I look at the way we lead our personal lives. And by “we”, I mean professionals in high tech and other industries as well as my friends and neighbors in affluent communities. We move so fast, obsessed with maximizing our careers, our children, our vacations. We are fueled by a relentless ambition to get somewhere and be somebody before it’s too late. It’s as if we’re whirling dervishes, going faster and faster until we spin out of control.

This spring, it all came to a stop. It’s hard to tell if this is a temporary reprieve or a permanent state of being. These four months have been hard for some, tragic for others. And we’ve all had a public and private reckoning about our complicity in perpetuating injustices against an entire race of people. Although we all yearn to resume life as normal, maybe we should reconsider.

What It Means for Eckerson Group

For all the ills it has wrought, the pandemic offers a convenient reset button. Eckerson Group plans to hit it and we hope other organizations do the same.

One of our core values is “We strengthen the communities in which we live.” As a virtual company, this is a challenging value to uphold. Today, we match charitable contributions up to a certain amount. But I know we can do more. Today, at our quarterly all-company meeting, I will ask our team a simple, but powerful question: “How would you spend your time if you could devote a half-day each workweek to strengthen your community?’”

What is money if you don’t spend it to improve the happiness and well-being of people?

I believe it’s time we pay staff to foster the common good if they’re so inclined. I don’t know how this will work yet—my general manager has lots of questions—but I look forward to hearing how my team wants to make the world a better place. I am truly blessed to be able to give them the greatest gift of all—time—to pursue those passions. What is money if you don’t spend it to improve the happiness and well-being of people? But truth be told, I expect this move will rebound to our company and staff in untold positive ways.

Conscious Capitalism

I’ve always been a public-minded individual, but I gained the confidence to take these steps after reading a book titled, Conscious Capitalism: Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business. The authors, John Mackey, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, and Raj Sisodia, a professor at Bentley College, explain that companies have multiple stakeholders. The purpose of a business is not just to make profits for shareholders, but also to meet the needs of employees, customers, suppliers, the environment, and our communities.

Business can and must be a force for social good. It’s time we each do our part. 

Web of interconnections. A socially responsible company serves all these stakeholders and more. In turn, stakeholders shower the company with numerous tangible and intangible benefits. It’s a two-way street, a web of interconnections that helps companies and their stakeholders become stronger and more prosperous than they would if they operated in separate, autonomous spheres. Business can and must be a force for social good. It’s time we each do our part.

My List 

I have a long list of things I want to do on my day of public service. Climate change is a huge issue for me, so perhaps I’ll stop flying and join 350.org, founded by environmental activist, Bill McKibben. But so is social and environmental justice, so maybe I’ll get certified as a conscious capitalism consultant. I’m disheartened by the rise of fake news, so maybe I’ll start an organization to certify news organizations so readers can quickly identify which ones follow established journalistic guidelines. I’m appalled at the polarization in government and would like to start a podcast that models how people with different political views can discuss issues and negotiate compromises, all guided by facts. The list goes on. My challenge is to pick one and stick with it.

What is on your list? What is your company doing to foster the common good, which is so important for our personal well-being and the health of our society and the democratic way of life? It is time we start asking these questions, and better yet, start doing.

Let’s use our reset button to prioritize what really matters. Let’s take a break from our frantic personal and professional lives and join a cause bigger than ourselves. To those who have already done so, I applaud you. You know that serving others is truly a gift that informs and energizes every aspect of your lives.