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Saving Capitalism—One Conference at a Time

June 1st, 2012 | By Alex Lajoux

Ever since the rise of capitalism in post-feudal Europe, people have predicted its self-destruction. Private creation and ownership of wealth carries risks, and these risks have been spotted by advocates and enemies alike. Free-market proponent Adam Smith in Wealth of Nationswarned against the dangers of separating ownership and liability in joint-stock companies.  A century later, in Das Kapital, Karl Marx, a foe of capitalism, said capitalism would fail due in part to the inevitable decline of profits over time. And at the turn of this past century, capitalist icon and financier George Soros wrote of the “capitalist threat” in the Atlantic Monthly magazine, predicting that uninhibited pursuit of self-interest without concern for the common good would lead to a breakdown of the free-market economy.

In more recent times, however, we have not needed books or articles to sound the alarm. The current realitiesof persistent recession and excessive regulation say it all. Clearly, capitalism is under siege and we, its practitioners, are its only hope.

Fortunately, there are several existing communities devoted to this noble cause.  One is NACD itself. At our national headquarters and in our chapters, we at NACD believe the organization is helping directors do their jobs well, which, in turn, strengthens companies and the economy.

But NACD is not alone in its dedication. A number of movements have emerged with the express purpose of saving capitalism from both itself and overregulation. One of the newest and fastest-growing is “conscious capitalism”—a movement that challenges business leaders and indeed all stakeholders to rediscover and live their companies’ true purpose—even while creating long-term wealth for owners.

The phrase was coined by Muhammad Yunus, who received a 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for founding the Grameen Bank, a provider of micro-loans.  The term caught on quickly. Kip Tindell, CEO of the Container Store, and John Mackey, co-CEO of Whole Foods Market, co-founded Conscious Capitalism Alliance in 2007, which would join with an institute to become Conscious Capitalism Inc.(CCI).

The Conscious Capitalism movement, via CCI, has grown in less than half a decade to become a convening force—one strong enough to tear me away from my office! Last month I served on a panel at the Fourth Annual Conscious Capitalism Conference at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. The event focused on the importance of “love and care” in the workplace, along with similar topics, including the board’s role in corporate culture, the theme of my panel.

The conference brochure advised me that “conscious businesses have distinctive cultures that help to sustain their adherence to their higher purpose and their orientation towards maintaining a harmony of interests across stakeholders. Conscious cultures are self-sustaining, self-healing and evolutionary.” So far so good!

I assumed my purpose was to suit up, show up, and “carry the flag” for corporate directors.  I could just picture myself as being the only “suit” among a sea of social activists and rising-star millennials, being a lone voice explaining that directors do care.  In preparation for the panel, I had come up with what I call the 5 Cs:

• code (help develop the code of conduct)

• CEO (pick the company leader and successors with an eye to culture)

• compensation (compensation committee sets incentives for nonfinancial and well as financial results)

• controls (audit committee ensures compliance with laws,  the code of conduct, and any other norms)

• composition (nominating and governance committee selects the board, which then sets the tone at the top through all of the above)

But as it turns out, although I did intone my 5 Cs, I didn’t have to do much explaining about how the boardroom works. Directors and business VIPs were everywhere in the crowd of over three hundred—including some with strong NACD credentials.

Day 1 featured former Medtronics CEO Bill George, who co-chaired the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Executive Compensation, as a keynote panelist on the theme of love and trust in business.

On Day 2, the director community was also in evidence. The moderator of the corporate culture panel, Deborah Wallace, is an NACD Fellow, and her panel included NACD’s most recent Director of the Year, Jenne Britell, chair of United Rentals. Another director on the panel, Ralph “Bud” Sorenson, is the chair of the nominating and governance committee of Whole Foods. The