Corporate leaders, academics and thought leaders will come together at Bentley University to explore what it means to be a conscious business in the 21st century. The fourth annual Conscious Capitalism research conference, held at Bentley May 22 and 23, 2012, will focus on the theme “Conscious Cultures: Building a Flourishing Business on Love and Care.”
“Conscious businesses have distinctive cultures that help to sustain their adherence to their higher purpose and their orientation towards maintaining a harmony of interests across stakeholders,” says Rajendra Sisodia, professor of marketing at Bentley and co-founder and chairman of the Conscious Capitalism Institute. “Conscious cultures are self-sustaining, self-healing, evolutionary, and resilient (though not impervious) to changes in leadership or external context.”
The conference will explore what a truly conscious culture looks like, and how it differs from a “great place to work.” Participants will hear from the leaders of companies who have built and sustained such cultures, and look at what the journey toward creating a conscious culture entails.
Ten interactive workshops will focus on a number of themes, including cultural assessment and measurement, cultural transformation, becoming more emotionally intelligent and fostering organizational creativity.
Among the featured speakers are:
- John Mackey, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Whole Foods Market
- Doug Rauch, Former President, Trader Joe’s
- Albilio Diniz, CEO, Groupo Pão de Açúcar (Brazil)
- Kip Tindell, CEO and Chairman, The Container Store
- Chip Conley, Founder, Joie de Vivre
- Scott Minerd, Chief Investment Officer/Managing Partner, Guggenheim Partners, LLC
- Ron Shaich, Founder, Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer, Panera Bread
- Richard Barrett, Founder and Chairman of the Barrett Values Centre
- James Heskett, Baker Foundation Professor Emeritus, Harvard Business School
- Robert Quinn, Margaret Elliot Tracey Professor at the University of Michigan
- R. Edward Freeman, Professor, University of Virginia
- Raj Sisodia, Professor of Marketing, Bentley University, co-founder and Chairman, Conscious Capitalism Institute
Corporate leaders include: Jenne Britell, Chairman of the Board, United Rentals; Michael Gelb, leading authority on the application of genius thinking to personal and organizational development; Ricardo Gil, Chief Culture Officer, Axialent; Timothy Henry, Managing Partner, Arete Management LLC; Julia Kirby, Editor at Large, Harvard Business Review; Alexandra LaJoux, Chief Knowledge Officer, National Association of Corporate Directors; Chris Meyer, Founder, Monitor Talent; ; Jay Ogilvy, Co-founder, Global Business Network; Shubhro Sen, Co-Founder and Executive Director, Conscious Capitalism Institute; and Bud Sorenson, Board Director, Whole Foods Market, President Emeritus, Babson College.
Academic presenters include: Ellen Auster; Professor of Strategic Management/Founding Director, Schulich Center for Teaching Excellence, York University; Andy Aylesworth, Associate Professor of Marketing, Bentley University; Marya Besharov, Assistant Professor, Organizational Behavior at the ILR School at Cornell University; Ernie Cadotte, John W. Fisher Professor, Learning Innovation at the University of Tennessee; Betsy Myers, Founding Director, Bentley’s Center for Women and Business; Srinivisan Pillay, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Michael Pratt, O’Connor Family Professor, Boston College; ; Anjan Thakor, John E. Simon Professor of Finance ,Olin School of Business, Washington University; and Maurizio Zollo, Dean’s Chaired Professor in Corporate Strategy and Sustainability, Bocconi University.
The conference is co-sponsored by the Conscious Capitalism Institute. For more information on cost, registration, detailed agenda and speakers, please go to: http://www.bentley.edu/events/conscious-capitalism