MEGATRENDS 2010: THE RISE OF CONSCIOUS CAPITALISM By Patricia Aburdene

Introduction

By 1982, the Information Economy was up and running, but it was still a controversial idea. “Information?” some folks scoffed. “There can’t possibly be any economic value in .” But by the 1990s, the Information Economy had blossomed into the age of high technology, now a trillion-dollar industry.

Today we are on the brink of another extraordinary revolution. The Information Age is already over and an exciting new epoch is taking its place.

Remember, the key point is this: When wealth is derived from a new source—say information rather than industry—a new economic era is born. In time, people’s jobs reflect that new activity. That said, consider the following:

It is often argued that the soul of a technology-driven economy is continuous innovation. No successful enterprise can pat itself on the back for last year’s software, for example, then sit around until customers demand a better product. Corporations must lead the market by initiating change.

But the same is true whether you’re a tech firm, a consumer-products company or a public relations agency: Creativity and innovation are the name of the game.

Medical tech device maker Medtronic, for example, invented pacemakers in 1957. Today, for each new product launched, the company is working on four generations of upgrades. That steady stream of innovation has translated into more than 20 percent a year in earnings growth for over a decade.

How do corporations achieve the challenging but lucrative goal of continuous innovation? The short answer, the only answer, is through the genius inherent in human consciousness.

In fact, there can be no invention in business or technology without human consciousness.

What is consciousness? I use the term in the spiritual sense, to mean presence or alertness—the awareness of awareness, the willingness to observe without attachment, the gleam of Spirit that animates humanity.

When an engineering whiz is patiently contemplating a complex problem, submerged for hours on end, he or she is living in the Now, dwelling in the realm of consciousness. Consciousness, the prime ingredient in creativity, represents a higher intelligence than the mind. When consciousness guides our mental facilities, the result can be brilliant.

Technology is consciousness externalized.

We’ve reached the point in economic history where human consciousness—the capacity for quiet, detached observation—is the raw material of innovation and, ultimately, of corporate money making. We will return to that point often in these pages. Consciousness is now as valuable to business as mundane assets like capital, energy or even technology. And the best way to cultivate consciousness is through techniques like meditation. As you will see in chapter six, that’s exactly what many companies are up to.

To those who claim high tech is dead and that computers have become replacement industry (like refrigerators), I would reply: One highly conscious individual can—and will—create the “killer app” (a software application that’s so popular and universal, like word processing or email, that it drives hardware sales) that will launch a $100 billion industry.

Welcome to the New Economy of Consciousness.

Charting the “Inner” Dimensions of Change

Megatrends 2010 chronicles the social, economic and spiritual trends transforming capitalism into a new, more wholistic version of itself.

What is a megatrend? It is a large, over-arching direction that shapes our lives for a decade or more. Like the megatrends books I co-authored in the past: Megatrends 2000, Megatrends for Women (Villard, 1992), Re-inventing the Corporation (Warner, 1985) and Megatrends (Warner, 1982) on which I served as John Naisbitt’s collaborator, this book is full of the facts, figures and vivid examples that quantify social change. But Megatrends 2010 takes it one step further—it depicts the internal dimension of change.

Because the inner world of ideals and belief shapes our actions.

Let me tell you what I mean.

The search for morals and meaning at work, as well as the desire to experience the peace and purpose of the Sacred in the stressful world of business, are “inner” truths, alive in the hearts of millions of people. These internal realities profoundly influence people’s behavior—like the choice to invest in a corporation that embraces higher social, environmental and ethical standards than its peers; the decision to work only for a company that honors your soulful, creative instincts; or the pledge to shop only at retailers who refuse to traffic in “sweatshop” labor.

These inner truths are our values—and they play a crucial role in change.

How does transformation happen? In Re-inventing the Corporation, John Naisbitt and I suggested a formula that I think is especially useful today. Social transformation, we wrote, “occurs only when there is a confluence of changing values and economic necessity.”

Most of us are well aware of the economic factors pressuring capitalism today, such as corporate scandals and the tech bubble. These forces drive change from the outside in, from the top down. Values-driven trends, like consumer action or spirituality in business prod change from the inside out or bottom up.

In Megatrends 2010, you will discover that the synergy of changing values and economic necessity is transforming capitalism.

Turbulent Times

Business has yet to recover from the jolting events of recent history: recession, the market crash and corporate accounting scandals. Yet we now face new challenges—growing deficits, soaring energy and healthcare costs, the prospect of rising interest rates and shrinking disposable income, and a “recovery” in which corporate spending and hiring remain sluggish.

As individuals, too, we live in a time of great uncertainty—the constant threat of terrorism, two recent wars, unemployment, fractured IRAs and lost savings. When we find little security outside ourselves, we are forced to look within to search the heart and soul for fresh answers and new directions. That’s why “The Power of Spirituality,” described in chapter one, is arguably the greatest megatrend of our era.

Whether you call yourself spiritual or evangelical, green or new age, a die-hard capitalist or a soccer mom who shops with her values, you need to know the powerful trends that are already re-inventing free enterprise.

People behind the Megatrends

Before I spell out my seven new megatrends, I’d like to introduce some of the soulful people behind the economics. In reading their stories, which I tell in each chapter, you’ll feel the powerful personal commitments fueling change.

In Megatrends 2010, you will meet:

• The CEO of a red-hot 2004 IPO who’s a devout meditator.

• The Dow 40 activist whose adventures in Third World economic development have trickled up into the speeches of her CEO.

• The workaholic, high-tech czar who lost his beloved son, opened his heart to Spirit and now says his Fortune 500 firm has earned hundreds of millions because of the spiritual principles he brought to work.

• A 13-year marketing vet turned meditation guru to the Fortune 500.

• The Silicon Valley entrepreneur working with the California legislature to free companies to be responsible to stakeholders, as well as shareholders.

The stories of people driving social change bring the mega-trends to life. -->

(continued at Megatrends:2010, Introduction 2 - discover the seven new megatrends!)

Dec 12 2005 Spirit at Work Teleconference with Patricia Aburdene  9-10 pm EST. Register online at www.spiritatwork.org