Business to the Buddha

Tag: social entrepreneurship

  • Inclusive growth







    We’ve seen that socialism had it’s problem, capitalism is no less culprit. I’ve been thinking about both together and have written about it. Regularly I asked this questions of how to two of my MBA professors – Prof Harkant Mankad and Prof Arun Ramanathan. Prof Ramanathan suggested me to read functioning of Nordic countries – heavy tax but less social security. Once I shared this logic –

    Socialism & CapitalismIf we look at both simultaneously we see some good and some not so good practices. Socialism had social benefit at center but execution sucked. On the other hand capitalism has profit at center and execution is better, and also capitalism largely never considered social good as one of the concerns.

    The very bird-eye-view (yes MBAs use this kind of jargon) solution could be – What is we bring social benefit and profit together at center and use execution efficiencies of capitalism around? The profit does not necessarily become – extracting whatever available consumer surplus is there with consumer. Take an example of social entrepreneurship, that is one good approach. Here, I do not intend to say every business should be like that. Also, yesterday I tweeted and updated on LinkedIn – If you want to be social entrepreneur, remember funder of social enterprise has impact in mind+heart & investing in head, so impact weighs higher! those kind of initiative can help in inclusive growth.

    I see that PPP – Public Private Partnership – can also be great boon for inclusive growth. However, greed has created more problem in the Indian context than giving us Inclusive Growth.

    Take an example of MNREGA, it has been failing, benefits are not reaching where they should. How can political parties be kept away from execution? Politicians asking for bribe in such cases is nothing but extortion. How about giving the executioner tax benefits to get involved in it and ask for accountability? Audit Done periodically by people (an independent body monitoring). The people affected and benefited can vote for continuation or stopping that company from involvement. So this can be kind of election on performance of NREGA.

    What I think is – people want a respectable life and not bread thrown at them condescendingly. Inclusive growth is possible when we think more like a combination of socialistic -capitalistic society.

    This way we’d be capitalist but in a socialist manner where besides profit, social uplifting would be a core of philosophy and growth.

  • I have a dream!







    Related blog – Why this title?
    Have you read the book – “I have a dream” by Rashmi Bansal? One of my friends gave me this book and said – ‘it might change your life, read it.’ It is on social entrepreneurship. I am reading the book nowadays, and found ‘author’s note’ very interesting, I am putting the note here.

    QUOTE
    There are two kinds of people in the world. Those who think, and those who feel. The ‘thinkers’ see a child begging on the street and say to themselves ‘that’s not my problem.’ Those who feel, however, will give that child something, if not a coin, at least a moment of compassion. Thinkers believe the world is a neat place, with boundaries. ‘My house’, ‘My family’, ‘My community’, ‘My welfare’ that’s where there the boundary ends.

    But those who feel see the entire world as One. Beggar and bourgeois, sinner and saint. We are all interconnected in ways we cannot understand. And Hence, in serving another, we are only serving ourselves.

    For too long now we – the ‘middle class’ of India – have chosen to be thinkers. We have deadened our hearts and our minds to the poor, the hungry and the homeless and the hopeless. Because that problem is really not ‘ours’.

    And the small minority who feels, it’s doing the best it can. But it is never enough! I see now, a new breed of people. Thinking-feeling individuals who look a problem in the eye and declare war. These people think like entrepreneurs but feels and work for the cause of society. And hence, they are ‘social entrepreneurs’. These are people like you and me, not Mother Teresa. They are using the principles of business, to create a better world. A world where profit does not equal greed. Where people come together for a greater common cause. A world where ‘I’ does not mean crushing ‘them’. Because the bank balance you have here on earth will remain, when you depart. Your Karma you carry forward.

    So no matter what your problem in life is, spare a moment for someone else.

    Spread love, laughter and goodwill.

    The more you give, the more you will get back.
    UNQUOTE

    I see a connection between teachings of the Buddha, these entrepreneurs and what Rashmi is saying – i) greater common cause ii) a world where profit is not equal to greed iii) we are all interconnected and iv) we are ONE world.

    I too have a dream – to see all of us – business men/women – as compassionate and thinking in the lines we – as a single world. This for sure would ensure peace, harmony and economically stable world.