Chip Conley is the founder of Joie de Vivre
Hotels, California's largest boutique hotel collection, which includes more
than 30 properties.
In this extract from a Stanford Graduate School of Business article he talks about the values that are important to him in business.
'You can see who’s most powerful in a society based on who
has the tallest buildings. Two hundred years ago it was cathedrals. Fifty years
ago it was a government building. Today, in most urban areas, the power rests
with business and skyscrapers. Business is the most powerful influence in the
world today. Fifty-four of the 100 most powerful entities in the world today
are companies, not countries. That means it is that much more important that
businesses take a conscious capitalist perspective to make a difference in the
world. I’m a big believer in that on a global level. Businesses are finally
asking, what is our ecological footprint? I also believe businesses need to
look at their emotional fist print on their employees.
Our work is the most
predominant use of our time. We spend more hours in our working life than our
family life. Yet for many people their working life leaves an emotional fist
print as if they're getting punched. It creates anxiety, anger, and a sense of being
abused. That can have a contagious effect on their family, friends, and
everybody around them. How do we measure that? Fifty years ago we had no idea
we could measure our ecological footprint. How can we start measuring and
managing what’s most important in life?'
