I believe the emotion component is the key to change business practice for the better. Humanising business practice starts with upping EQ within organisations.
Business has long been a “man” thing. All left brain, all rational, all numbers and data and facts. Sun Tzu’s famous tome The Art of War seems to have infused the business world with war-like terminology, terminology designed to mask violence, to effectively remove any possible emotional connections.
But the reality is far from coldly rational. Think about the stock market. So much of it is underpinned by “gut feel” rumours and innuendo, backed up post-decision numerical justification. Think about the cars stock brokers drive - I bet very few of those were rational, sensible, logical choices!
How many times do we hear “Don’t worry about it, it’s just business.” Emotions are for after work. But what happens when our work hours get even longer? Let’s not forget also that a lot of our worth, identity, esteem is tied up with work. For the sake of our mental health, surely it is time to trash this dangerous myth of deliberate emotional-disconnection and retardation.
So what’s behind the reluctance to change? Is it pure the fear of change? Is it a case of when things go bad we superstitiously go back to the old ways? Even when the old ways are what caused the problems to begin with?
A more humane business will be intrinsically a creative one. It will be more resilient and able to respond effectively to change. What’s not to like?
