What if Jesus Ran a Business?

Murray Ansell

6 years ago

As someone who coaches leaders how to run successful heart-guided businesses, I thought it would be interesting to explore how a business might operate if it ran on the principles of unconditional love. My experiences as an employee have been with fairly benevolent employers, one a worldwide accounting partnership and the other an international bank. In both situations, the business practices were tightly controlled to minimize the risk of financial loss.

You could say they were structured based on an underlying fear of loss rather than the consciousness that all is well, and that they are always provided for and protected by an eternal connection with the Source of all that is good. Those who consciously create their desired reality know that fear is primal, survival based programming, predicated on a physical self-identity limited in every way including lifespan.

They also know that each of us is much more than that, being our loving spiritual essence that uses the physical body like an avatar in a video game to grow through relationship with other individuations of our Self, in the largest sense of that word. This shift in self-awareness suggests that, to be fully authentic, a conscious business creator will base her/his business upon principles of love not fear, as to do otherwise would be to deny their true nature and be misaligned with their true self during business hours. So what would a business based upon loving principles look like?

Employee Relations

Employees could be hired on their passion for the role being offered and rewarded based on the contribution they make to the business. This is easy to do in the Sales department, but ways would need to be created that demonstrated the value contributed by those in roles that can’t be directly linked with sales. Perhaps a cafeteria approach would be devised that offered a range of reward options for those who excel, so high performers could choose the reward structure they value the most, increasing their feeling of being valued, and encouraging them to continue to strive for excellence.

For those who aren’t excelling, coaching could be provided, but not for explicitly remedial purposes, but to help them find the best fit for their gifts and talents, and to help identify and remove any unconscious patterns that are holding them back from performing at their best and from getting the most joy from their work. All staff would be encouraged and empowered to take leadership roles in projects that they feel excited about and for which they can demonstrate skills and insights that give them the perspectives not held by others on the team.

A high level of support would be given for the personal and professional growth of all staff as a core value of the business, which recognizes that the more the people grow in their personal and professional capacities, the more their skills can be used to grow the business. And there is no fear of losing employees, even though this may happen from time to time, because the business is run like a loving, high functioning family, minimizing staff turnover, absenteeism and stress.

Customer Relations

As Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin group of companies has said “Treat your employees well, and they will treat your customers well”. One initiative recently introduced at all Virgin’s head offices that is working well is the offer of unlimited leave and flexible work hours. Instead of keeping employees onsite for every hour of the workday like battery hens, Virgin trusts its employees, who respond with loyalty and trustworthiness in not abusing these opportunities.

Sir Richard notes in a recent blog post “A happy employee is a productive employee, and it’s an entrepreneur’s job to ensure that they are caring for their staff. Above all, keep in mind that a business is a collection of people. If your people are not happy and healthy, then your enterprise’s prognosis isn’t good enough.”

Happy, healthy staff who feel cared about and respected, will return that caring and respect to the business that employs them in the form of initiative, productivity, and care and respect for its customers, helping to grow both its top and bottom lines by creating loyal customers who also care for and respect the business.

There are many other ways a love-based business differs from the traditional corporate approach, and for further exploration of this concept, feel free to contact us at Business Energy Coaching. If you own a business and want it to thrive, try re-designing it from love rather than the traditional fear-based approach. Your staff and customers will love you for it, and you will love how it grows your business.

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