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Seven New Trends That Will Transform How you Work, Live and Invest From Megatrends 2010, The Rise of Conscious Capitalism by Patricia Aburdene

A Megatrend is a large, over-arching direction that shapes our lives for a decade or more.  “In Megatrends 2010,
you will discover that the synergy of changing values and economic necessity is transforming capitalism.”

1) The Power of Spirituality: In turbulent times, we look within: 78 percent seek more Spirit. Meditation and yoga soar. Divine Presence spills into business. “Spiritual” CEOs as well as senior executives from Redken and Hewlett-Packard (HP) transform their companies. “The quest for spirituality is the greatest megatrend of our era.” Spirit is defined as the attribute of God that dwells in humanity—“analogous to the Holy Spirit, but in an ecumenical and nondenominational way.” Millions have invited Spirit in their lives through personal growth, religion, meditation, prayer or yoga. “Spiritual transformation, triggered at the individual level, is now spilling over from the personal to the institutional.”

2) The Dawn of Conscious Capitalism: Top companies and leading CEOs are re-inventing free enterprise to honor stakeholders. Will it make the world a better place? Yes. Will it earn more money? That’s the surprising part: Study after study shows the corporate good guys rack up great profits.

3) Leading from the Middle: The charismatic, overpaid CEO is fading fast. Experts now
say “ordinary” managers, like HP’s Barbara Waugh, forge lasting change. How do they do it? Values, influence, moral authority. Managers are forging lasting change through the special power of informal leadership.

 4) Spirituality in Business: Spirituality is springing up all over, as “faith at work” or “spirit at work.” Even MBA programs now offer spiritual courses, and the International Spirit at Work Awards (inspired by the late Willis Harman) honors programs that explicitly nourish spirituality at work. Each month San Francisco’s Chamber of Commerce sponsors a “spiritual” brown bag lunch.

5) The Values-Driven Consumer: Conscious Consumers, who’ve fled the mass market , are
a multi-billion-dollar “niche.” Whether buying hybrid cars, green building supplies or organic food, they vote with their values. Brands that embody positive values will attract them. They are often called “LOHAS” or Life-styles of Health and Sustainability customers, heavily overlapping the Cultural Creatives.

6) The Wave of Conscious Solutions: a new era that welcomes the widespread application
of “conscious” techniques in business. Coming to a firm near you: Vision Quest. Meditation. Forgiveness Training. HeartMath. They sound touchy-feely, but conscious business pioneers are tracing results that will blow your socks off.

7) The Socially Responsible Investment Boom: Today’s stock portfolios are green in more ways than one. Where should you invest? This chapter charts the “social” investment trend and helps you weigh your options. Over 200 SRI mutual funds now subject stocks to “screens” that measure a company’s policies on social, environmental and ethical matters. “In this book’s conclusion, The Spiritual Transformation of Capitalism, we explore the underlying values of capitalism. I shall attempt to dispel what I believe is the absurd notion that free enterprise is rooted in greed. Consciousness Capitalism isn’t altruism, it relies instead on the wisdom of enlightened self-interest.”