The Four Cornerstones of Business

In preceding posts I have discussed the idea of business being difficult (first “cornerstone”), why business is difficult (second ”cornerstone” and the possibility of minimizing these difficulties exist (third “cornerstone”).

The fourth noble truth as originally presented by the Buddha is that by following the noble eightfold path liberation from difficulty is possible for the individual. In the context of business the fourth noble truth or cornerstone is that by integrating the wisdom of the eightfold path into the company consciousness businesses, individuals and teams can gain a strategic competitive advantage by having a better perception of the business environment, a better ability to react to changes in the environment, and a culture that enables the company to recruit, retain and motivate the most skillful people.

In other words, the individual, business or team the more these skills are integrated into their actions, behaviors and communications they wll experience less difficulty that is inherent in the conduct of business.

The steps on the eightfold path are:

1. Right View
2. Right Intention
3. Right Speech
4. Right Action
5. Right Livelihood
6. Right Effort
7. Right Mindfulness
8. Right Concentration

In the eight sections that follow we will examine each of the above areas both as they apply to companies and individuals who work at companies. But before we do so it is worth discussing the word “right” in this context.

The original teachings of the Buddha were passed down as oral teachings for many decades. The reason for this is that paper was rare in ancient times and was easily destroyed by the elements. As a result wisdom across all cultures was more commonly passed down via oral tradition. The Buddha’s teachings were first written on paper in an ancient Indian language called Pali. The word that “Right” is translated from could also be translated as Wise, Learned or possibly Appropriate. Many English speaking buddhist scholars have decided that the English word Right is the correct translation.

In this context as we discuss Right patterns of thought, communication and action it does not mean that there is an absolute right and absolute wrong pattern of thought, way to communicate or act. It does mean that often there are more skillful and long term productive ways that we can think about ourselves, communicate with others and act in the world. This is possible not only for individuals but for companies as well.

It is important to understand that all of the steps in the path are interdependent with one another. What is taught and experienced by individuals is that often by developing one of the steps the others are developed as well. To simplify, think of this as training with free weights where multiple muscle groups are used to lift the weight rather then using a machine that focuses on a single muscle group.

The reason that moving through the world using these skills reduces difficulty is that they empower and enable a position of strength while at the same time encouraging the ethical and moral use of that strength while communicating clearly. This results in a reduction of actions, behaviors and communications which cause conflict, tension and strife.

If as an executive, manager or individual contributor you are taking the concepts in these writings out into the “real world” it is important to be very cautious about using the word Right in conversations. In the Buddhist tradition the conversation around these concepts is often around “skillful” vs. “less skillful” as these words do not have as much emotional, societal, and psychological context attached to them.

While Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Eric Schmidt probably did not have these specific concepts in mind when they wrote their “Founders Letter” which was a prominent part of the Google IPO prospectus when I read it – I hear these concepts echoed.

Google is not a conventional company. Eric, Sergey and I intend to operate Google differently, applying the values it has developed as a private company to its future as a public company. Our mission and business description are available in the rest of this prospectus; we encourage you to carefully read this information. We will optimize for the long term rather than trying to produce smooth earnings for each quarter. We will support selected high-risk, high-reward projects and manage our portfolio of projects. We will run the company collaboratively with Eric, our CEO, as a team of three. We are conscious of our duty as fiduciaries for our shareholders, and we will fulfill those responsibilities. We will continue to strive to attract creative, committed new employees, and we will welcome support from new shareholders. We will live up to our "don't be evil" principle by keeping user trust and not accepting payment for search results. We have a dual class structure that is biased toward stability and independence and that requires investors to bet on the team, especially Sergey and me.

It is possible to make light of this letter because at this point Google was already running a high margin business with a pretty clear growth path ahead of it. I hear these concepts from Fred Smith, Founder and long-time CEO of Federal Express. He continually drove home the point that for FedEx their customers were the most important people, then the employees who directly served customers and then the management and people who enabled the infrastructure for FedEx to provide it’s services to customers . The idea is to focus on the actions, behaviors and communications which are going to drive long term value while applying sound business practices to drive both brand value and profitability.

Caveats, Disclaimers, Past and Future Posts

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This post is the eighth in a series that looks at how Buddhist Wisdom can be applied to business. To start from the first post go to linkd.in/1qEIoKb. I have also created an an index / table of contents for all the posts at http://linkd.in/V7Yugv. My next post will look at how Right View or Wise View can be applied to business.

The writings in these posts represent my personal interpretations and understandings of buddhist wisdom as it applies to business. The responsibility for any errors, misconceptions and/or alternative interpretations of traditional buddhist teachings are completely mine and mine alone.

I hope to post additional thoughts and writings each Tuesday and Thursday but this will vary as life’s circumstances require. Please follow me on LinkedIn to stay in touch. I sincerely appreciate and look forward to reading any posted comments. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. Stay tuned!