Are you a Social or Zen-Preneur?
What is a Zenpreneur?
In the words of Ron Rubin, owner of The Republic of Tea “Zentrepreneurs have a strong sense of self and of purpose. They are poised and centered. They have discovered their ‘why’ (per Simon Sinek), which allows their ‘what’ to carry the greatest impact that it possibly can.””he said in an interview with Awareness Magazine.
Interestingly, it would appear from our research that the rise of the Zenpreneur comes at the same time spirituality is on the rise, the environment is in crisis and many of us are seeking answers.
The Global accountancy firm, Deloitte, have just released the Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2018, entitled “The Rise of the Social Enterprise.”
The introduction to their report states that “Organizations are no longer judged only for their financial performance, or even the quality of their products or services. Rather, they are being evaluated on the basis of their impact on society at large—transforming them from business enterprises into social enterprises.”
Deliotte believe that it is “driven by social, economic, and political changes that have grown since the global financial crisis. Despite the economic recovery the world has seen since 2008, many people feel frustrated that financial gains have failed to improve individuals’ lives, address social problems, support political stability, or mitigate technology’s unintended consequences. People today have less trust in their political and social institutions than they have in years; many expect business leaders to fill the gap.”
At the same time, The Financial Times recently reported that ‘Social Entrepreneurship, once a nich area is spreading it’s wings‘ and that ‘Across the world, almost half as many people are creating ventures with a primarily social or environmental purpose as those with solely a commercial aim‘. Their article claims that the movement is driven mainly by younger entrepreneurs and the growth has taken place against a backdrop of corporate scandals that have brought capitalisms values into question.’
This resonates deeply for us at Rotunda and we whole heartedly celebrate the rise of the zen and social-entrepreneur. We too are driven by the same motivations, as are many of our clients. A powerful desire to be a force for social and environmental change is the undercurrent which runs deeply through the fabric of our organisation. For us, we not only understand that circular spaces serve as better social spaces for human interaction and wellbeing but also see our business as a vessel to achieve our long term objectives of protecting woodlands and biodiverse habitats around the world. Our product is an exquisite manifestation of this passion.
“It’s a desperate time for the ecology of our planet at the moment. Now more than ever, the other species are depending on us to make drastic changes to our behaviour. Information flooding back to us through the media (of the loss and devastation of natural habitats, unprecedented species decline and of course the horrors of microplastics and these impacts upon our food chain) is quite frankly terrifying. Especially for those of us with children.”
What is an ecological tipping point?Environmental tipping points cascade through and between social system and ecosystem. A small change to either system leads to larger changes in both. A positive tip generates improvements in social and ecological systems that reinforce one another to turn both systems from deterioration to health.
The real question here, why would anyone starting a business today or designing a product NOT be a social or zen-preneur? If you have the capacity to create. You have the power to be part of the change. When we are losing sight of our hedgehogs, when 90% of marine birdlife have plastics in their stomachs, and when the status-quo of our pre-existing capitalist system is failing us and others on this planet on all levels there’s only one thing left to do….
Dream big.
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