Author: Olimpia Rosales, by Olimpia Rosales, researcher at Thematic Area Group in Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Research Group of Business School of Tecnológico de Monterrey.
The Christmas season evokes noble feelings such as love and compassion, generating a sense of unity with others and deep personal well-being. Altruism, a quality inherent to human beings, has endured throughout history and in various cultures as a fundamental value in society. Altruism is desirable for everyone, but it is particularly expected of those with greater economic resources, such as merchants or businessmen.
The practice of sharing, historically reflected in tithing – giving 10% of income – has been common since ancient times in civilizations such as Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. Even in the context of Tenochtitlán in the 16th century, business ethical codes included care for others, the absence of greed, and the giving of material offerings, as reflected in the Florentine Codex.
Cultures such as Buddhism and Japan's Zen philosophy emphasize simplicity and compassion as fundamental spiritual pillars that define the essence of economics. Islam, for its part, uses zakat, a religious tax to redistribute wealth. And the Catholic religion with the image of Saint Martin Knight, the saint of business, represents the idea of offering alms to the needy.
Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, also advocates the need to “empty” oneself to be “filled,” promoting the notion of sharing to continue receiving and growing. Finally, transpersonal psychologist Stanislav Grof argues that, despite spiritual diversity, the main ethical message always converges on love, compassion and deep respect for life and empathy with all sentient beings.
In the business context, there is a clear opportunity to generate and share economic and social value. Various responses have emerged, from a focus on corporate social responsibility to the promotion of conscious businesses and social entrepreneurship, all trying to bring us closer to empathy and unity as a society.
Recently, as part of my research during my doctoral studies at Tecnológico de Monterrey, I had the privilege of interviewing entrepreneurs from various industries. I discovered with satisfaction that those involved in altruistic actions of different kinds are the ones who experience a fuller life and, curiously, they are also the ones who obtain the best long-term results in their companies.
Could altruism be the link between hedonism and transcendence by appealing to our noblest values as human beings? The proposal is to test it and find out if the Greeks, Mexica, Kabbalists and psychologists are right, or if it has simply been the idealism of a few. Explore whether sharing is the missing factor in the strategic equation, allowing companies to transcend beyond mere financial results and begin to cement the soul that guarantees their transcendence.
Originally published in Infobae.