As people show an interest in writing for the Winter edition of eO&P on Conscious Business it is striking how many different angles there are to the subject.  They are all important in their own way.

This poses both a risk and an opportunity.

On the one hand conscious business could mean anything to anyone – becoming buried in its own fuzzy well meaning. On the other, the number of avenues offers the possibility of making real sustainable change: change that we can look back on and say ‘this is the difference we have all made’.

A quick look at our list today includes subjects such as:

• The role of the law in building and sustaining relationships in conscious business.
• The impact that an enlightened approach to human resources can have.
• Consciousness within capitalism.
• Moving from straightforward management models to paying attention to long term sustaining ‘communities of influence’ to bring about change.
• The role of forgiveness in how we manage to work together.

 There needs to be some centralising theme around which these different paths consciousness business can develop.  For us, in this edition of eO&P, this needs to be the interaction between ideas of conscious business and what happens on the ground to make this happen; in other words a ‘groundedness’ to consciousness business.  We especially want to hear what goes well and what doesn’t as people struggle with making an abstract ideal to a practical reality.

However, these are our thoughts today as we start the process of sourcing articles and editing eO&P, a process that will take several months.  In those months to come we will be sharing with you our consciousness as we work with these ideas and make sense of them with the authors.  In other words, it is consciousness in practice.

Rob Warwick and Pete Burden

Author: Rob Warwick

My experience lies in the various aspects of organisational change, particularly working with groups and individuals to understand the impact of change and the opportunities it offers. Areas of knowledge include: the formulation and implementation of Government policy; corporate strategy and planning; management control within organisational change; and public sector compliance. A common thread through much of my work is making sense of ambiguity and conflict. This includes the impact of newly introduced legislation and government policy, mergers between organisations, or their parts; and, the workings of multi-disciplinary groups. These experiences were a major influence on my doctorate on healthcare policymaking and the unpredictable and paradoxical impact it has on frontline staff practice. Areas explored in my thesis included the often unexamined implications of a scientific systems based approach to change and the impact this has on people. My thesis includes practical actions to improve policymaking.