HOW TO CREATE A BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY

A business philosophy is the belief structure upon which the business develops. It is the conceptual skeleton, infrastructure, or foundation. Philosophies explain or examine the concepts, truths, doctrines and systems of thoughts of something. All businesses are based on the covert or overt philosophies of their originators. Philosophies are the driving force or energy underneath the mission and action of the work.

Do you know or can you guess the philosophies of the following business organizations? Ask or research these companies to see what they stand for philosophically. What are their mission statements and visions ? Each organizational philosophy represents its origins, its people and its products.

Mrs. Fields Cookies	Budweiser
Sisters of Charity	Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream
The Mafia	Disney
Goodwill Industries	Halliburton
Girl and Boy Scouts	Wal-Mart
American Medical Association	Starbucks

Case Example

Philosophy: All Work is Sacred

A group of hospital employees were asked why they should be motivated to "do the right thing." They answered with comments about morality, professionalism , and personal values. When it was suggested that one philosophy behind doing the right thing was that All Work Was Sacred and therefore they worked on Sacred Ground they stared with blank expressions and had no response. The consultant suggested that they worked on sacred ground because people were born in this hospital and people died in the hospital also. Clients they served were coming into the world, trying to stay in the world, or leaving this world. The consultant suggested this meant sacred ground to her. They had not thought of that, but liked it. Then several employees offered their own personal philosophies and remembered their medical training and the philosophical foundations they had learned years earlier. The consultant helped them organize a philosophical statement that reflected their beliefs about their work.

But how could a fast food restaurant, a dental practice, a childcare center or a corporate headquarters be Sacred Ground? What about an automobile factory, nuclear waste facility or brokerage firm? Most offices do not host birthing rooms or morgue tables. Of course, babies have been born in offices and employees have died of heart attacks at work. Employees have died falling down elevator shafts and conceived new life on a top of a desk in the last cubicle . This does not necessarily make a location "sacred," but finding what is sacred to you or your employees about work is an excellent way to keep people feeling good about their work. People generally attend well to whatever they accept as sacred, be it a religion or a sports event. Find out what is sacred to a person, honor it even if you don't hold it sacred yourself, and you will go a long way to being a peacemaker at work. Wars are usually over people fighting about protecting what they define as sacred. Work is no different.

 

Case Example

A couple was having marital difficulties and did not understand each others' careers. She was a massage therapist. He was a bridge builder. When it was suggested that they both worked under the philosophy of maintaining important infrastructure so people could live their lives in comfort , they looked each other in the eyes and began to cry. It had never occurred to them that they were in the same book, but on different pages.

 

Case Example

Two weeks after 9/11 the client said, "My kid works at the World Trade Center, but I think he is still alive . And he's with his best friend. They always meet in that pizza place in the lower part of the towers to talk all their big important stuff. This was their sacred domain. So I think they must have found each other and are down there drinking the sodas for free waiting to be rescued."

Three weeks after 9/11 the client said, "I guess I don't think they are coming out now. But I tell you what, that pizza place now is part of where heaven starts. And pizza is sacred food."

 

Maybe you can't consider your work as sacred, and your worksite as Sacred Ground. If such theological vapor is too much for your sharply pointed rational mind, try playing with the following philosophical discussion. See if it works. Play with it. Wrap it around your mind to see if it fits. If not, it doesn't matter. Philosophies are Sacred Ground and very personal. There is nothing more sacred than discussing sacred ground with someone who holds the opinion that there is nothing sacred.

A Rational Approach to "See all Work as Sacred Ground" Exercise

1. If you believe in any sort of a "God," then wherever you are God is, which makes every location Sacred Ground.

2. If you don't believe in any sort of God, or any sort of higher power, being or essence which is larger than you, then Sacred, in the traditional, more theological sense of the word, might not work for you. Ask yourself what you hold Sacred, meaning valued above all things. If the answer is "nothing" then your vision of " nothingness " is what you hold sacred. Most people do hold something dear, precious and unreservedly unique. This is their Personal Sacred. Although the concept of sacredness is usually associated with religious or spiritual ideas, many people hold their own rational thought as sacred. If you are one of those people take the exercise the next logical step:

3. Wherever you go, there you are, and so is your mind, your consciousness, your beingness, and whatever vessel contains your rational thinking apparatus. Wherever you are must be Sacred to you, even if it is Sacred to you alone. If you perceive yourself all alone in an otherwise hostile universe, then you should take great care to protect yourself and those around you and your location from harm. Because that which effects your location in an adverse way may compromise the container of Your Rational Mind which you consider your sacred. If you hold the absence of Sacredness sacred, then maintaining that belief is sacred to you, or you would give it up easily.

4. It's just good business to have a good philosophy, and "Work is Sacred" is just as good as other philosophies. Terrorists recognize and respect their Sacred Ground. This is where they love to operate . Or, they love to invade yours. Sacred ground is where people are the most vulnerable and fear risking the most. People don't like to gamble on Sacred Ground so they are easy prey to someone who is willing to risk it all. And Terrorists don't hesitate to risk your sacred ground at the drop of a hat. The great terrorists of the 20 ^th Century have all recognized Sacred Ground; that is why they have fought to control it. They enjoy sending other peoples children, our most sacred possessions, into the battlefields for their agendas . They have enjoyed putting our children at risk, or our holy sites in harm's way. Of course they are horrified when a random missile fragment hits their Sacred Ground. Immediately they cry "foul' from their sacred entitlement.

5. Conflicts and wars can be started by the challenges associated with defining what is sacred and what is not. On some level, all wars are Holy Wars. One side wants to protect its' Sacred. The other side wants to protect or accumulate Sacred. No one wants to "surrender." Siblings fight over a sacred toy, husbands and wives fight over who controls the stuff or the sex or the money or the kids . Movies like Changing Lanes, War of the Roses, Lord of the Rings, Braveheart , and countless others are cinematic examples of battles for sacred ground. If every one and every place were defined as sacred, there would be no wars. Ever. We would spend our days honoring the Sacred of others while celebrating our own Sacred. Wars take a lot of energy, resources, time, and money. War is life alienating. Unless your mission is War, and your work is based on the philosophy that Death is valuable , then it probably does not serve your agenda to ignore the Sacred in all things. But then again, is War your Sacred? When Peace is Profitable, Peace will prevail. In the meantime it is useful to wade around in philosophical questions and discussions to help you define where you are really coming from either personally , professionally or from an organizational perspective.

6. Conflict at work over sacred ideas, equipment, attitudes, salaries, secrets, opinions , rumors, agendas, or anything else is costly.