Need a Reset? Focus on the Here and Now
B the Change Weekly: January 25, 2019
Delivered on Fridays, B the Change Weekly delivers the most important and most relevant stories about people using business as a force for good. The newsletter features a weekly note from the B the Change team alongside insight and context on the stories we share here on Medium. Below is our latest roundup. To receive these insights directly in your inbox, sign up for B the Change Weekly today. Now onto the good stuff:
Our thoughts can keep us up at night and drag us down during the day. While it’s human nature to think ahead about our to-do’s or dwell on past mistakes, we also know deep down that we don’t have control over either. All we can control our present mindset.
Changing our minds is like changing our habits, and it’s hard work, as businesses in the Certified B Corporation community know. These companies choose now to work for good — for people, planet and other stakeholders — so things will be better in the future.
By resetting our thoughts on the present, we actually can build a brighter future — and, finally, get a better night’s sleep.
B Corps That Make the Mind-Body Connection
When everyday life gets harried, turn to mindfulness-oriented B Corps that can help put your thoughts and body at ease. Here are a few of the B Corps featured on B the Change:
- A healthier tomorrow drives Wanderlust, which produces events and instructional media focused on transformational yoga, mindfulness, fitness and wellness. In addition to events, Wanderlust offers apparel and promotes a Wander Without Waste program, an Earth-friendly festival movement to support a greener planet.
- WE-AR markets yoga and casual wear made from materials that have gone through a life-cycle analysis that considers environmental, health and social impact. The New Zealand B Corp has built a network of partnerships with suppliers and craftspeople near its creative workshop in Canggu, Bali, in turn helping strengthen their community through social and economic development.
- While premium performance and technical apparel for female athletes is Athleta’s primary business, the Gap Inc. brand celebrates inclusivity with its Power of She campaign to encourage active women and girls to uplift one another. And Athleta is an environmental leader as it works toward its goal of using sustainable fibers in 80 percent of product materials by 2020.
Forward-Thinking Business Turns to Employee Ownership
Sue Butler and Tracy Till created a unique organizational culture at their Rochester, New York-based advertising and media company by combining exceptional support for employees with high expectations around performance and personal responsibility
As they prepared for retirement, Butler and Till wanted to protect what they had built. Knowing that those who worked at Butler/Till valued the culture of care and excellence and would be most likely to preserve it, they decided to sell their company to the employees, gradually transferring ownership
They also planned for a leadership shift to the new company president, Kimberly Jones. “I had such wonderful mentoring for nine months that when I actually became president … it was almost anti-climactic; nothing changed,” Jones says. “It was like learning to ride a bike with training wheels.”
On B the Change, read how a conscious switch to employee ownership helped preserve business purpose and values at Butler/Till.
Staying Present at the Workplace
Operating a purpose-driven business requires ongoing thought and attention toward goals and strategy, aka “the future.” But mindfulness practices urge us to center our focus on our current circumstances with a sense of calm. How can businesses best combine the two?
Praised for its ability to decrease stress and strengthen focus, mindful living has gained popularity among inspirational business leaders who are testing its effects at the workplace: Aetna has saved millions of dollars in health care costs and Patagonia has combined leadership in its market with a pervasively mindful outlook.
Check B the Change for real-world examples of how mindfulness — meditation, yoga and other techniques — has benefited B Corps and other businesses.
Book of the Week
If you have a specific suggestion, let us know at info@bthechange.com with the subject line “book recommendation.”
How to Ikigai: Lessons for Finding Happiness and Living Your Life’s Purpose
By Tim Tamashiro
Why isn’t every day meaningful for every person? Is it even possible to live each day in meaningful ways? Sure it is. On a tiny south Japanese island, people live their life’s purpose every day. They are happy. They are fulfilled. They are some of the oldest living people in the world. Their secret is ikigai.
Ikigai is a simple but abstract map for living a meaningful life that comes from Okinawa, Japan. It has four directions: 1. Do what you love. 2. Do what you’re good at. 3. Do what the world needs. 4. Do what you can be rewarded for. Although these directions seem simple, they are deceptively difficult. This book will transform ikigai from its abstract form into a simple practice within reach for anyone.
B the Change gathers and shares the voices from within the movement of people using business as a force for good and the community of Certified B Corporations. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the nonprofit B Lab.
