Dr David Cooke shares with us why he wrote his book Kind Business - Values create Values. David Cooke draws from extensive research and personal experience to present a compelling case for a kinder, more empathetic approach to business. The book outlines practical strategies for integrating core values into everyday operations, demonstrating with real world examples how ethical practices not only benefit society but also drive financial success.
Why I wrote Kind Business
I have been asked several times why I wrote Kind Business: Values create Value, my book that has just been released, and I haven’t had an immediate answer. There wasn’t a life-long burning ambition to write a book, or a clear intention, as I left the corporate world, that I’d write a book. It’s just one of those things that happened. I did however have one nagging thought throughout the majority of my corporate career and that was ‘if we admire qualities such as honesty, fairness, decency, compassion and kindness in individuals; and respect and even honour the people who display these, then why don’t businesses also strive to uphold these characteristics, and if they did, surely, they too would earn our favour, our trust and our loyalty’.
Rather the corporate world tends to conjure up images of toughness, even ruthlessness; of large structures competing against each other in the constant pursuit of profits and shareholder returns.
This is not restricted to corporate structures owned by shareholders. We witness young people leaving university and entering prestigious legal and professional services firms, owned by partners, who in some cases are expected to work long-hours, many of them unpaid, in order to advance. In some industries we see an ever increasing move towards contract roles with few of the safeguards or benefits experienced by employees and an expansion of the gig economy which promises freedom and independence for workers with their own transport or delivery businesses, yet many of these people struggle to earn a living wage.
We see the longstanding practice of multi nationals taking advantage of cheap sources of labour in developing nations and at the darkest end of the scale, instances of some corporations contracting with manufacturers in their supply chain who engage in practices of forced labour and even modern slavery, in order to further drive down unit costs and squeeze even greater profits out of each transaction. The business world is at times anything but kind.
Fortunately, there are wonderful examples in the corporate sector too, generally led by people with higher levels of emotional intelligence, who have built their brands by ‘doing business differently’ and in some cases have become famous for it. The people running these companies care about those who work there, they are honest and transparent with their customers and they contribute to their communities. They understand that when you treat everyone in your ecosphere well, then, your business will thrive. People will want to work there; people will stay longer and people will want to spend their money with you. A virtuous circle is formed between profit and purpose with each nourishing each other and providing the impetus for growth and long term business sustainability.
What is perhaps most encouraging is that the motivation to function in this way is generally that ‘it is simply the right thing to do.’ In other words, it is not driven by a spread sheet that shows a return on investment from being kind. It comes from the heart and we should always remember that we need head and heart in order to create a kinder world. This is what Kind Business advocates for. Find out more about David and order your copy here https://www.esgadvisory.com.au/kind-business-book-1
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