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The Corporate Revolution: When Business Becomes Human
In 1886, a simple Supreme Court case notation granted corporations legal personhood-rights without the corresponding human traits of empathy, fairness, or generosity. Fast forward to today, and these powerful entities control nearly half the world's wealth. Yet something remarkable is happening: the cold, faceless corporation is evolving. As consumers increasingly demand meaningful relationships with brands that share their values, companies are discovering that adopting a more human face isn't just good ethics-it's good business. "Good for Business" has become a phenomenon in corporate leadership circles, with CEOs from Apple to Zappos citing its principles as instrumental to their success strategies. The book's revolutionary premise-that ethical business approaches actually increase profitability-has challenged decades of "greed is good" thinking and inspired a generation of conscious capitalism advocates from Silicon Valley to Wall Street.
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The Corporate Awakening: Power Meets Responsibility
Today's corporations wield unprecedented power-51 of the world's 100 largest economies are companies, not countries. Walmart alone employs nearly as many people as lived in America during Thomas Jefferson's time. This immense influence comes with growing expectations, as public trust in corporations has plummeted following scandals from Enron to Bernie Madoff. Yet paradoxically, people increasingly look to businesses rather than governments to solve global problems.
This shift stems from three key factors. First, corporations have demonstrated greater effectiveness in addressing major issues than governments. During Hurricane Katrina, Home Depot and Walmart responded more efficiently than FEMA, leading 87% of Americans to expect corporate involvement in disaster recovery. Second, consumers feel personally connected to brands that increasingly define their identities. Finally, people demand reciprocity-believing corporations should give back proportionately to their enormous profits.
The opportunity is clear: reimagine the corporation not merely through corporate responsibility initiatives but through a fundamental transformation of business purpose. The most successful future companies will assume larger cultural roles while behaving distinctly human-not from pure altruism, but because it serves their long-term interests.
This new corporate model embraces human values rather than operating amorally. John Mackey of Whole Foods exemplifies this approach, measuring success through value created for six stakeholders: customers, employees, investors, vendors, communities, and the environment. These companies build emotional connections through shared values-Google talks about not being "evil," Nike celebrates human potential, Harley-Davidson builds community-and inspire trust by consistently fulfilling obligations and prioritizing long-term values over immediate self-interest.
A strong corporate brand offers practical benefits: reduced marketing costs, unified messaging, and employee alignment under a shared purpose. It provides a visible platform to demonstrate social responsibility and drive meaningful change. Rather than waiting for regulatory mandates, tomorrow's corporations can proactively create ethical standards, recognizing that serving all stakeholders yields competitive advantages in differentiation, brand image, and customer loyalty.
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The Consumer Republic: Power to the People
Today's business leaders face a transformed landscape where consumers increasingly determine whether companies survive. The internet has fundamentally altered this power dynamic-only 9% of Americans report it has little impact on their shopping habits, down from 20% in 2004. Modern consumers research products online, read and write reviews, compare prices, and organize collective purchasing, completely inverting the traditional corporate-consumer relationship.
This shift is beautifully illustrated by contrasting financial service advertisements: Capital One's old model shows bankers literally trapping a miniature loan applicant, while LendingTree's newer approach depicts a customer telling his banker he's using competitive bidding for his mortgage, patting the banker's arm saying "I'm pulling for you"-a complete role reversal.
Today's consumers aren't inherently smarter, but they have unprecedented access to information and collaboration tools. Trust in "a person like me" jumped from 20% to 68% between 2003-2006, making peer reviews tremendously influential. With approximately 120,000 new blogs created daily, smart marketers must participate positively in consumer conversations rather than trying to control them.
Beyond being informed, modern consumers are increasingly conscious and conscientious. Nearly 80% purchase environmentally friendly products, with 43% of Americans willing to pay up to 10% more for green products-sales of which remained strong despite the recession. This reflects a fundamental shift in consumer mindset: over 40% of consumers in America, Britain, and Japan agreed they had "too much stuff" as early as 2004, and by 2009, half reported satisfaction from reducing purchases during the economic downturn.
This conscious consumption creates expectations for corporate behavior. Research shows companies falling short: 50% of respondents say corporations fail to make environmental impact a core decision factor, and half believe employee treatment falls below expectations. This matters greatly, as over three-quarters of consumers are less likely to trust companies with poor environmental or social responsibility reputations.
Today's consumers also wield unprecedented power to voice criticisms to millions online and rally others to common causes. The 2006 TXU case exemplifies this shift: when the Texas power company planned to build coal-fired plants, environmental groups mobilized opposition so effectively that potential buyers refused to proceed without environmentalists' blessing, resulting in dramatic environmental commitments.
The tables have truly turned-consumers are watching corporations just as closely as they once were watched. During JetBlue's 2007 Valentine's Day crisis, stranded passengers documented their ordeal with phones, contacting media and creating websites that preserve the negative experience in perpetuity. Nearly 60% report increased interest in corporate conduct, and over 40% actively seek information about company ethics to make purchasing decisions.
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The Four Pillars of Conscious Business
As business evolves, natural selection now favors companies adopting a more humanized approach to commerce-one that considers the new consumer's motivations and marketplace demands. While integrating ethics and community consciousness was once dismissed as unnecessary "do-goodism," today's leaders recognize the benefits of enlightened self-interest. This approach rests on four essential pillars.
First, the corporation of the future has a purpose beyond profit. Leading companies like Google, Nike, and Whole Foods share compelling beliefs clearly articulated and genuinely embedded in their organizations. Google grew from a college project to an $86 billion brand while living by credos like "Don't be evil." Nike became the world's leading athletic supplier by centering its brand on personal empowerment. Research shows over 80% of consumers believe companies should stand for something beyond profitability.
The most benefit accrues to companies that boldly declare their values and objectives. Ben & Jerry's displays its social mission on store walls, while Lush posts its brand beliefs from animal testing policies to "making our mums proud." Green Mountain Coffee Roasters communicates purpose at every customer touchpoint-from product naming to tasting notes that explain how purchases support sustainable development.
Smart companies involve consumers in their mission. Innocent Drinks exemplifies this approach, having built a 72% share of the UK smoothie market by giving 10% of profits to charity, using eco-friendly packaging, and inviting customers to "join the family"-resulting in 120,000 members who participate in charity fundraisers and even attend company meetings.
Second, the corporation of the future treats people well. With increased transparency from regulators, NGOs, and empowered employees sharing insider information, bad corporate behavior is increasingly exposed. Companies must proactively behave humanely rather than waiting for government or consumer pressure.
In an era of declining service standards, companies that exceed customer expectations stand out. When Bob The Fish faced delayed product shipments threatening holiday deliveries, the CEO personally offered customers generous compensation options, building loyalty by demonstrating real people run the company.
Equally important is fair treatment of employees. Public perception shows corporations fall shortest in this area-with 60% of respondents saying companies fail to share profits fairly with employees, reflecting frustration over the widening executive-worker pay gap (now 364:1 versus 10:1 twenty years ago). Values-led corporations like Whole Foods address this by capping executive compensation at nineteen times average hourly worker pay.
Third, the corporation of the future champions sustainability. This has evolved from perceived hindrance to essential business component, driven by consumer consciousness and recognition of its business value. Companies like Stonyfield Farm embraced sustainability as both purpose and differentiation strategy, while DuPont focused on cost savings that equaled its net profit from 2003-2007.
Effective sustainability approaches require specific commitments and transparent progress reporting. Marks & Spencer's "Plan A" includes reducing energy usage, converting company cars to diesel/hybrid, and ensuring ethical sourcing with Fair Trade certification. Their transparent reporting creates accountability and has proven to be a competitive advantage through reduced energy and waste costs, improved reputation, customer loyalty, and new product development.
Leading companies recognize they must influence their audiences' carbon footprints. Wal-Mart has emerged as a surprising environmental leader, recycling billions of pounds of materials, opening high-efficiency Supercenters, purchasing renewable energy, and conserving over 400,000 acres of wildlife habitat. Their eco-friendly initiatives have saved an estimated $3.4 billion while improving their reputation.
Fourth, the corporation of the future respects consumers' power. Today's corporations must act more like political candidates, clearly communicating their mission to earn consumer support. Research shows consumers expect unprecedented transparency-around 80% want businesses to maintain ongoing communication, 75% demand complete openness, and 60% believe public opinion should drive corporate strategy.
Companies must demonstrate genuine understanding of customer concerns rather than fake empathy. During economic downturns, companies like Hyundai show understanding by offering protection plans allowing customers to return vehicles without penalty after job loss-a practice quickly adopted by competitors across industries.
Smart corporations leverage social platforms to maintain ongoing conversations with customers. P&G's Vocalpoint engages half a million influential mothers in product discussions, recognizing that consumers ultimately control the message. Even in troubled sectors like cable television, Comcast has found success by creating teams to address online complaints with humility rather than defensiveness-proving that "humility trumps hubris."
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Building Reputation: The Corporate Brand's Greatest Asset
Today's companies are judged by their total actions. As full-fledged "citizens," everything they do faces public scrutiny. A strong corporate reputation affects employee retention, pricing power, investor preference, crisis protection, trust, media relationships, and market capitalization-potentially accounting for 75% of the gap between book value and market cap.
Reputation can't be delegated to PR firms or crisis teams-it must be an ongoing focus central to the company's health and long-term mission. The Conscious Corporation understands that stakeholder perceptions matter more than executive intentions.
Cause-related activities must align with the company's core business to meaningfully impact perception. While KPMG and Home Depot supporting breast cancer research is good, Avon's Walk for the Cure creates exponentially more value because it aligns with their women-centered business values. The best socially conscious focus helps brands transcend their category-like MTV becoming a youth activism leader or Nike championing human potential.
Building genuine CSR programs requires time, money, and C-suite commitment. GE's ecomagination initiative exemplifies this approach-even after defeating a shareholder resolution calling for greenhouse gas emissions reporting in 2001, the company voluntarily conducted an audit the following year. By 2005, CEO Jeffrey Immelt had announced the comprehensive initiative and became its visible champion, allocating $1.5 billion for R&D by 2010 and establishing public accountability through transparent reporting.
Successful reputation-building through CSR requires strategic alliances with external stakeholders. GE proactively engaged environmental NGOs during ecomagination's development phase, creating an eco-advisory board of sustainability experts. Similarly, when Clorox launched Green Works, CEO Donald Knauss secured endorsements from the EPA and Sierra Club to validate the products' environmental claims. With three-quarters of consumers influenced by NGOs in their purchasing decisions, cultivating these relationships has become essential.
Reputation requires constant monitoring as years of goodwill can be destroyed overnight. When McDonald's faced criticism following the Super Size Me documentary, they didn't just defend consumer choice-they discontinued super-sized options, added healthier menu items, established a Global Advisory Council of health experts, increased nutrition transparency, and revised marketing guidelines for children.
While some companies take an understated approach to CSR communication, brands that derive the greatest reputational benefit are those that visibly champion their values. Nearly three-quarters of consumers view businesses publicizing their good deeds positively. The most value accrues to companies that take bold stances and establish ownership of specific issues-like Toyota with alternative energy or Apple with individualism.
The Conscious Corporation continuously extends its social and environmental commitments. Walmart exemplifies this approach by leveraging its market power for positive change. When confronted with the issue of child labor in Uzbekistan's cotton industry, Walmart not only pledged to stop purchasing Uzbek cotton but also organized retail trade associations to pressure Uzbek authorities to improve conditions for child workers.
Involving customers in a company's social and environmental initiatives builds brand loyalty. TOMS Shoes exemplifies this by donating a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair purchased, educating customers about podoconiosis, and even offering customers the opportunity to join "shoe drops" in Argentina to personally place shoes on children's feet.
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The New Leadership Paradigm: Beyond Command and Control
As business environments evolve, leadership requirements change dramatically. Four leadership paradigms have emerged across U.S. business history: Authoritarianism and Paternalism (1776-1950s), The Countercultural Revolution (1960s-1970s), American Dynasties (1980s-early 2000s), and the emerging Global Visionaries (mid-2000s-present).
Today's leaders face unprecedented challenges beyond delivering profits, including managing sustainability, ethics, and culture-all with complete transparency. CEOs experience intense pressure with shorter tenures (averaging 48 months), public scrutiny of compensation, constant availability requirements, and total accountability with diminishing control. This explains why nearly 1,500 U.S. CEOs departed in 2008 alone.
While high-profile CEOs can bring tremendous value to corporate brands (like Warren Buffett, Sam Walton, and Bill Gates), there's danger when the brand becomes all about the CEO. Apple's dependence on Steve Jobs exemplifies this risk, with health concerns causing billions in market value fluctuations. Going forward, the focus will shift from corporate leadership to the corporate brand itself.
As traditional command-and-control cultures evolve into Conscious Corporations, leaders must develop four key characteristics. First, they must articulate a clear vision while living brand values. Robert Redford demonstrates this with Sundance-though a celebrity, his success stems from authentic commitment to environmental sustainability, supporting craftspeople, and developing artists. Leaders must be mindful of the messages sent through personnel decisions, as "leaders get the behaviors they tolerate." Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh demonstrates this principle through the company's unique culture-focused hiring process, including offering new employees $2,000 to quit after training.
Second, leaders must establish a foundation of trust. Ed Breen's transformation of scandal-plagued Tyco exemplifies this-after firing the top 290 employees, he partnered with Jack Krol to rebuild the board's credibility, instituted a new values system demanding honesty and integrity, implemented specific measurement criteria, and created an enterprise risk assessment process. By 2006, GovernanceMetrics International rated Tyco's board 10 out of 10, placing it in the top 1% of companies assessed.
Third, leaders must stay real. A 2007 BNET survey revealed CEOs scored highly on "passion," "intelligence," and "ethics," but fell short on "accessibility," "communication," and "compassion." Only one in five executives described their CEOs as "caring" or "warm." Leaders of Tomorrow must show their human side as spouses, parents, and community members. Being recognized as an actual human being rather than an infallible icon protects leaders from dramatic falls from grace.
Fourth, leaders must invite people in. A.G. Lafley pioneered this approach at P&G by decreeing that half the company's innovations should come from outside, implementing programs like Connect and Develop. At Zappos, CEO Tony Hsieh uses Twitter to connect with both customers and employees, creating an invaluable focus group and deeper stakeholder connections.
Chief Marketing Officers are uniquely positioned to help transform companies into more conscious versions of themselves. David Wilkie of Marketing 50 notes that CMOs are "chief everything officers," seizing marketplace opportunities and bringing customer insights into organizations. The best CMOs have a personal passion for sustainability that creates momentum within their companies.
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Engaging the Talent of Tomorrow
As the economic landscape shifts, companies must balance short-term pressures with long-term talent management. Richard Branson's philosophy prioritizes employees first, then customers, then shareholders-recognizing that motivated staff leads to happy customers and ultimately shareholder success.
Millennials (born 1977-1995) represent the largest shift in the U.S. workforce since Baby Boomers, with 80 million soon to become the majority of workers. This generation is motivated more by values in action than traditional incentives of money and status. They strongly prefer socially and environmentally conscious employers-81% want to work for companies that improve society, and a similar percentage would choose green companies when evaluating similar job offers.
Millennials require more guidance and feedback than previous generations-65% want detailed daily work guidance compared to 39% of Boomers, and 85% desire frequent performance feedback. Companies like Ernst & Young and IBM have adapted with online feedback systems, mentorship programs, and generation-appropriate training methods. This generation values both personal achievement and communal success, wanting to feel part of a larger cause.
Companies derive three key benefits from engaged talent: higher magnetism and lower turnover, stronger financial performance, and better customer relationships. Destination employers like Southwest Airlines can be selective, hiring just 1.3% of applicants. Engaged employees are 50% more likely to stay with a company, saving $40,000-$100,000 per position in turnover costs. Financially, companies on Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list returned 14% annually compared to 6% for the overall market.
To engage employees effectively, Conscious Corporations must give talent a meaningful role in the company's purpose beyond profit, offer continuous learning opportunities, promote personal passion pursuits, and recognize employees as human beings. When people find meaning at work through making a difference, as at Google where employees feel they're changing the world, engagement soars.
Companies must invest in employee development-like The Container Store's 241 hours of first-year training versus the industry's 7-hour average-and create opportunities for growth that keep skills relevant. With Americans working longer hours (40% logging over 50 hours weekly) and taking minimal vacation (just 8.1 paid days annually compared to 28 in the UK), work-life balance has deteriorated. Forward-thinking companies offer telecommuting (83%), compressed workweeks (75%), job sharing (61%), on-site childcare (32%), and sabbaticals (19%).
Employees crave recognition as unique individuals rather than mere numbers. Innovative companies create more "homelike" environments that acknowledge employees' humanity. NetApp, a $3.3 billion company consistently on Fortune's "Best Companies" list, maintains a "down-to-earth ethos" that includes replacing complex policies with simple principles like their travel policy: "We are a frugal company. But don't show up dog-tired to save a few bucks. Use your common sense."
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Brand Ambassadors: Your People Are Your Message
In today's hyperconnected world, everything a company does communicates something about its brand. While organizations may invest heavily in structured external messaging, these efforts are ultimately amplified or undermined by their own people. External audiences judge companies not by official statements but by employee actions and online communications.
Edelman's 2009 Trust Barometer reveals that employees rank among the most credible sources of company information, trusted even more than friends, family, or traditional media. This makes employees crucial conduits who can either strengthen or damage brand perception through their words and interactions.
For brand values to be effective, they must be genuinely embraced by employees rather than dictated from above. Zappos exemplifies this approach by developing their ten core values through employee input rather than executive mandate. They hire and fire by these values, ensuring cultural alignment. Similarly, Ritz-Carlton reinforces its values through daily "lineups" where staff at all levels gather to discuss the company credo and share exceptional service stories.
In an era of automated customer service and impersonal interactions, companies that foster genuine human connections gain significant advantage. Consumers increasingly frustrated with phone menus and overseas call centers have even created websites like GetHuman to bypass corporate barriers. Against this backdrop, Apple transformed its brand through retail stores staffed with enthusiastic, knowledgeable employees selected more for personality and brand passion than technical skills. Their stores generate over $4,000 per square foot annually-four times what Best Buy achieves.
While command-and-control companies fear employee online communication, forward-thinking organizations recognize its potential benefits. Companies like Pinstorm even include social media participation in performance reviews. IBM transformed from a corporate behemoth to an open collaborator, hosting ValuesJam where thousands of employees shaped company values online. Hewlett-Packard allows employees to maintain blogs guided by a simple code of conduct.
Bringing consumers and employees together drives innovation and strengthens brand connections. Adobe Systems developed Photoshop Lightroom by releasing beta versions and creating forums where photographers could provide feedback directly to developers. LEGO embraced enthusiasts who hacked their Mindstorms products, eventually recruiting fans to help design new generations of the programmable bricks.
Conscious Corporations create a larger social consciousness among employees that extends to customers. Ritz-Carlton's Give Back Getaways program invites guests to work alongside employees in community service projects. Logistics company TNT partners with the World Food Program, deploying disaster-response teams globally while employees blog about their experiences-communicating corporate values more authentically than PR statements ever could.
Building community among customers and talent delivers substantial financial value. Studies show eBay users active in discussion communities won 25% more auctions and spent 54% more money, while 70% of consumers reported that participating in brand experiences increases their likelihood of purchasing products. Harley-Davidson pioneered this approach with its million-strong Harley Owners Group, attracting over 200,000 customers to its hundredth anniversary celebration in Wisconsin.
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The Future Belongs to the Conscious Corporation
The economic crisis beginning in 2008 triggered massive loss of trust in the free-market system and business leadership, revealing shocking cases of selfishness, greed, and incompetence. In this environment, consumers are asking which organizations can be trusted to act competently with an eye toward the common good. Businesses can no longer rely on lobbying, superficial branding, or PR spin-only those that truly "walk the talk" will earn consumer trust and loyalty.
As people feel individually powerless against complex global problems, they respond enthusiastically to companies demonstrating real leadership on bigger issues. The corporations that will lead us into a more optimal future are those that address both selfishness and altruism, helping consumers feel that what benefits them also benefits the world.
In an era of bewildering change and diminishing certainty, people seek organizations offering stability and mindfulness about the common good. The conscious corporation provides sense amid confusion in a world transformed by population growth, technology acceleration, product proliferation, and complex global challenges.
Social interaction has steadily declined over recent decades as people have become busier, more mobile, and more isolated in their daily lives. A joint study by Duke University and University of Arizona found that between 1985 and 2004, the mean number of people with whom Americans discuss important matters dropped by nearly one-third. In this environment of social disconnect, companies can humanize themselves by fostering interaction among stakeholders, helping fulfill people's innate desire to belong to something larger than themselves.
Business has become part of popular culture as consumers take greater interest in brands and the people behind them. Business figures like Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Warren Buffett have become familiar personalities not just as successful leaders, but as embodiments of archetypal qualities. Unlike sports heroes or politicians, these business leaders offer consumers daily interactions through their brands, providing role models who must consistently demonstrate ethical behavior.
The most successful corporate brands of tomorrow will be those that have incorporated humanization into their brand DNA. They will have greater influence with policymakers and better engagement with talent, consumers, and investors. They will recognize that in today's transparent world, everything about a company communicates something, and will see this not as a threat but as an opportunity to align their actions with their brand values.
