Donahue Center Distinguished Speaker Raj Sisodia Points Way for Students
Image by Ed Brennen
06/06/2019
By Ed Brennen
鈥淭his is the richest country in the history of the world,鈥 Raj Sisodia told the roomful of students, many of whom were about to graduate from the university and head out into that world. 鈥淭he stock market is at record highs, and unemployment is below 4 percent.鈥
Then Sisodia, a best-selling author, scholar and co-founder of a movement called 鈥,鈥 rattled off a few sobering statistics about the current financial condition of the United States.聽
鈥淣early 60 percent of American households have a negative net worth; they are technically insolvent,鈥 Sisodia said. 鈥淔ifty percent of Americans have less than $400 in the bank. One hundred million Americans, two-thirds of the workforce, are living paycheck to paycheck.
鈥淗ave I depressed you?鈥 Sisodia asked the hushed crowd at Lydon Library before pivoting back toward positivity. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 have to be this way.鈥
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The Donahue Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility invited Sisodia to campus recently to speak to students, faculty, staff and community members as part of its Distinguished Speaker Series.
Sisodia, the F.W. Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business and Whole Foods Market Research Scholar in Conscious Capitalism at Babson College, shared stories from his latest book, 鈥淭he Healing Organization,鈥 which examines how business can become the 鈥減rimary agent鈥 for healing communities 鈥 and the world.
鈥淚f we do it right, business can actually alleviate suffering and bring joy into people鈥檚 lives,鈥 said Sisodia, who shared examples of companies that have done this by putting people instead of profits at the center of their business model.
Sisodia said the first step is for businesses to listen for and acknowledge the 鈥渟ilent suffering鈥 of employees, who often do not want to share their burdens and appear vulnerable.
鈥淧eople are broken, burned out and stressed out,鈥 Sisodia said. 鈥淭he human cost of doing business has become unacceptably high.鈥
Image by Ed Brennen
Businesses need to be willing to go against the status quo and change industry culture to improve working conditions, Sisodia said, giving the example of a successful consulting agency that focuses only on local clients so employees don鈥檛 have to be away from their families.
鈥淧eople are frustrated with the old story of business. It doesn鈥檛 inspire anymore, and it鈥檚 leading to a lot of negative side effects in the world,鈥 said Sisodia, who added that this is why there鈥檚 an increased 鈥渇lirtation鈥 with the idea of socialism in American politics. 鈥淧eople are fed up with negative sides of income inequality.鈥
Sisodia noted that in the last 35 years, worker pay in America has increased 10 percent, while CEO pay has gone up 937 percent.
鈥淭hat is unconscious capitalism. That is exploiting the system to benefit a few,鈥 said Sisodia, whose 鈥淐onscious Capitalism鈥 philosophy is based on the belief that a more complex form of capitalism is emerging that has the potential to enhance corporate performance while also advancing the quality of life for billions of people.
鈥淩aj exemplifies a very special type of wisdom required to see opportunities for scalable business strategy and innovation that benefits the world,鈥 Donahue Center Co-Director Erica Steckler said in her introduction of Sisodia.
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Steckler, an assistant professor of management in the Manning School of Business, added that she鈥檚 been a 鈥渟uper fan鈥 of Sisodia鈥檚 since the beginning of her academic career.
Sisodia has authored or co-authored 10 books and more than 100 articles in a career that鈥檚 taken him from India and California to New England. He鈥檚 also served as a consultant for a wide range of companies, including AT&T, Walmart, McDonald鈥檚, IBM, Volvo and Kraft Foods.
Sisodia said he was 鈥渧ery happy鈥 to be speaking on a campus that has caught his attention of late.
鈥淚鈥檝e been observing a 51视频 that鈥檚 really been a dynamic institution the last few years,鈥 said Sisodia, who told students they should be proud to be members of a university 鈥渢hat鈥檚 growing and evolving and really making a difference.鈥
Gabriella Boudreau, a senior business administration major from Arlington with concentrations in management and marketing, appreciated Sisodia鈥檚 鈥渉eartfelt鈥 message on the eve of her graduation.
鈥淚 like the idea of business being able to create change in people鈥檚 lives,鈥 said Boudreau, who hopes to work with nonprofits. 鈥淚t was definitely nice to hear.鈥