Humane Capital

Book excerpt: Featuring a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Despite decades of research and evidence, there is still extreme scepticism that businesses can combine a more humane style of management with superior shareholder returns, or that busy managers can be guided effectively by both their heads and their hearts. Vlatka Hlupic has spent 20 years investigating this paradox, developing an insightful critique of why such strong evidence has had limited impact and providing an alternative, practical approach that any employer can implement in order to overcome the unique challenges faced by their organizations. A clear correlation exists between companies that do well and companies that are good – that is to say, organizations that promote goodwill internally and externally, and work proactively with stakeholders, employees, society and customers to achieve those goals. A 'bad' company, on the other hand, may do well but its success is unlikely to be sustainable. Humane Capital explores the steps that businesses need to take in order to become a 'good' organization that can achieve long-term results. Supported by insights from interviews with 58 leading thinkers and practitioners in the field, Humane Capital argues for a radical reassessment of current business models. Using stories of managers from both the private and public sectors who have been effective in making the transition, Hlupic shows how successful leaders have moved their organizations from controlled and orderly to enthusiastic and collaborative – and shows how current leaders and managers can do the same.