1.
Love has no place
in business
The Debate

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© Contexis 2017
Contexis House of St Barnabas Debates are a unique forum for Leaders
of global corporates, financial institutions and international consultancy
and advisory firms to meet with charity heads and inspiring entrepreneurs
to discuss, under a strict Chatham House rule, the critical business issues
of the day; to exchange knowledge, expertise and ideas from widely
differing perspectives.
None of this would be possible without the contribution of a wide range
of exceptional organisations and we are grateful for their time, candour
and insight. A small number of Contributors were represented in the debate
whose output you are about to read. Nothing that follows is attributable to any
one organisation.
If you would like to join a Debate we are always open to interesting and
challenging new Contributors. I’d welcome an email or tweet.
JOHN ROSLING
jrosling@contexis.com
@jrosling

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© Contexis 2017
Does love have any place in
business?
Or is this a crazy idea?

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We wanted to find out.

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© Contexis 2017
So we brought together leaders from some
of the largest companies on the planet with
entrepreneurs, advisors, academics,
philosophers ..
..for an honest debate.
This is what was said..

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First of all what is love?
Passion
Humanity
Compassion for
myself and others
Respect
Trust
Abundance

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© Contexis 2017
And is there any place for that in
today’s business?
It seems not much

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© Contexis 2017
A place for love?
As we look at the world
there seems to be no
place for love in business
as usual. It is a short-
term, profit driven world
that leaves no place for
love
At an operational level,
business is necessarily
scarce - there is only so
much money, so many job
grades, so much in the
bonus pot.
People won’t talk about
love in a business
context. It is too big a
commitment, there is the
risk of looking silly if you
bring it to work.

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© Contexis 2017
That’s just the way
business is
Employees and the shareholders are set
against one another. Businesses will think
nothing of sacking 10% of their people to hit
a number that they have promised the
shareholders
The way the market works is
corrosive. Companies are not
valued by analysts or rewarded
by investors for long-term value
creation. Analysts and private
equity houses drive short term
bad behaviour.

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© Contexis 2017
So you end up in an environment of fear and risk and feeling not
good enough and telling people they’re not good enough.
The antithesis of love.
That’s just the way
business is

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© Contexis 2017
A ridiculous conversation..
This is just a ridiculous conversation. Love is simply not the
currency of business. Love is abundant, business is inherently
scarce; it is about taking a unit of production and giving as much
of the resulting output to a few people and as little as you can get
away with to the others.

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© Contexis 2017
But what if it wasn’t like that?..
Are there any reasons we should
consider love in business?

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Surprisingly, it seems the answer
is ‘lots’..

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Love is the natural human
instinct
People are not transactional. If you
treat people transactionally they
behaviour like that: If you treat them as
a whole person they bring the whole
person to work
To treat people as people
requires love
In business we seem to believe people will perform if you threaten or bribe
them. In any other area of human endeavour we seem to know people behave
at their best if they are loved, engaged and made to feel meaningful.

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© Contexis 2017
Love attracts and
empowers people
What keeps most CEOs awake? Employee issues and the attraction of talent.
Historically, the discussions around the Board have been about financial
results, shareholder issues, and then employee issues.
In an uncertain, ambiguous and wholly transparent world, having a new
relationship with staff is the first issue.

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© Contexis 2017
Can love attract
customers?
To survive, any business must bring
customers right to the heart of things. To do
that effectively everyone needs at least to
understand and care – maybe we might
even call that love?
But to be able to deliver value to
customers you need engaged,
motivated staff and the source of
that is a human relationship.

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© Contexis 2017
Love as a survival
strategy?
As we move forward, the only way we
can work is to come together. There
won’t be R&D; all ideas will be from
outside, which means you have to think
differently, to take care and to
collaborate.
Much of what we now do will, in
future, be done by AI and robotics. Is
this an opportunity for more love or
less?
The people who are adept at
empathy and compassion will be the
most important ones in the future

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© Contexis 2017
Love is at the heart of all
great human performance
Love is critically important for military and sports people. They know that
effective teamship is built on love. Because in battle and sport, when peoples’
performance really, really matters, love is core to the cultural identity.
In business do we really think peoples’ performance matters less?

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How crazy is that? If love is the source
of team effectiveness, of performance
and productivity, why on earth is
business not totally focused on this?
“It’s genuinely strange. This is the most
important thing and yet we never discuss it”

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© Contexis 2017
This conversation has been about how do we create better adapted
cogs in the toxic machinery of business.
We should begin with the human heart and build from there.
Love is not a stratagem it’s a paradigm.
But this requires
fundamental change and
not platitudes

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© Contexis 2017
Have we even understood
this?
Even this discussion
shows the problem: we
are talking about
’retaining talent’ not
’loving people’
This is a very
transactional
conversation. Is love
simply to drive talent or
create efficiency?
Isn’t love abundant and
not a means to an end?
Love should be
abundant and not
about KPIs or units of
return .

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And we could be running out of time..

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A dangerous place?
People don’t feel they
belong.. this is very
dangerous for
businesses and for
society. Love is about
belonging
The fundamental
disconnect between
people and employer is
starting to become
untenable
If there is a cultural move
away from ego and fear
towards the soul, what
place has business as it
now exists? Why would
people give it their time
and passion?
.

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© Contexis 2017
But things are changing..
Companies know this
isn’t sustainable. Mental
health, well-being,
retention of talent are
becoming more of a
focus of attention
To say that both profit
and people are
important and that
there is a balance
doesn’t feel that crazy
any more
Actually, fundamentally
people want to be part
of the solution not the
problem. We’re just
working on how ..

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© Contexis 2017
A new model for
capitalism?
‘work is love made visible’
Ed Sheeren says ‘Love can change
the world in a moment’.
If we believe that why would we
not want that in our business
today?
This is ‘a paradigm shift. Soulful
organisations, motivated by love, are
doing things differently’

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© Contexis 2017
A new model for
capitalism?
I think that after 200 years of the product era we have hit a
wall of change; even Jack Walsh says shareholder value is
the dumbest idea ever

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If we believe there is a place for love in
business, how do we introduce that into
the business?

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© Contexis 2017
1. Vulnerability
Leadership will work but only if it’s
authentic and consistently lived in
the organisation. LinkedIn is an
example where this is happening
As a CEO, how do I show love?
I know of one who sits in his
factory and plays the piano. It’s
nuts but they love him and he
does this because he loves
them.
it’s about courage, vulnerability,
actively caring

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© Contexis 2017
2. Authenticity
It is about really living values
Love is about feeling
recognised; as leaders we need
to invest in that. Take the time
to really know them. Care
authentically.
This is about a genuine
authenticity in leadership

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3. Ownership
.
We have to take responsibility
whoever we are. What can we do
as individuals? It starts with me
It requires ownership at every
level. Without everyone in the
organisation feeling a sense of
ownership and trust this will
never work. The fears and
incumbency in middle
management will stop it

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© Contexis 2017
4. A cultural assumption of
generosity and abundance
if you assume the best, the best
will result
.
We need to learn to celebrate
failure; Google has its
Museum of Failure
Love is not about acceptance
but it is about forgiveness. Love
is compassionate not just
empathetic. It can be demanding
In large organisations you get all this
aggressive, negative language; that
division is weak on the numbers or weak
with their staff

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© Contexis 2017
5. Continuity
.
it starts with individuals but there
simply are not enough individuals
who believe in this or care about it
A confident leader in place for a
number of years can drive a
culture of love. Rarely seen in a
large corporate organisation, it
does exist in entrepreneurial and
family businesses which can be
more nurturing of people and
take a longer view.

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© Contexis 2017
“If leadership exhibits vulnerability, communicates in
love with authenticity, is consistent over time and
allows people to own it and take responsibility, it will
become unstoppable.
This is a natural part of being human. And people
want to be part of the solution, not the problem”

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© Contexis 2017
So, what on earth is stopping us?

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© Contexis 2017
1. Fear
Why take the risk? If you
show love that leaves you
vulnerable emotionally and
practically. You need to
protect yourself in large
organisations.
Men need to learn to be open
and vulnerable. Women can
be better. But too often women
who climb the ladder seem to
adopt traditionally male
behaviour patterns.

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© Contexis 2017
2. Dominant, incumbent
cultures
So often this kind of idea starts
at the top but gets stuck in the
middle. So many ideas can’t
cascade through the middle
management
It feels like a business is stuck in a
previous era. We need to change. We
need to educate people that it’s okay to
talk about feelings.
In a large organisation it’s easier not to
know people because so often you will
end up having to get rid of them.

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© Contexis 2017
3. Feeble leadership
Inadequate leadership, an
inability to look at the right
things; a fixation on the
wrong deliverables .
Unless the culture right at the
top is accepting of this I am
exposed to risk and ridicule.
.

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© Contexis 2017
4. Stress
There is no time for love
It’s really about how people
behave when things go badly.
People can act with a degree
of love but when the pressure
comes on its very hard to
sustain.

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© Contexis 2017
5. It can’t be measured
Let’s be realistic: you can’t measure
this so it’s not valued. If I bring love
into business will it be valued?
Really? Paul Zak’s work shows that love
and trust create a release of oxytosin
(the reward hormone) - and that can be
measured
Should this be measured? You just know.
If you talk to people you know if there is
love or trust. Use your senses not a
measurement.
Our measurement tools are out-dated.
Annual, retrospective measures of
engagement are just not good enough

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© Contexis 2017
So, what have we learnt?..

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© Contexis 2017
That business today is short on love.
It’s just the way it is..
But there are five compelling reasons that this
must change

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© Contexis 2017
1. Love is the natural human instinct
2. Love attracts and empowers people
3. Love attracts and retains customers
4. Love is a survival strategy
5. Love is at the heart of all great human
performance

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© Contexis 2017
Time is short. The old way of doing
things just isn’t working anymore. For
business. Or for society.
To turn this around there are five things all
businesses must embrace

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© Contexis 2017
1. Vulnerability
2. Authenticity
3. Ownership
4. An assumption of generosity and abundance
5. Consistency and continuity

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© Contexis 2017
It seems axiomatic that love should be
central to every collective human
endeavour; in war, in sport, in
relationships.
It’s just business that is weird.

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© Contexis 2017
“There’s so much love in the team. It’s good to
see people vulnerable, you build relationships
by being vulnerable.”
Billy Vunipola Saracens and England Rugby player

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© Contexis 2017
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it
does not boast, it is not proud. It is not self-
seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs. Love does not delight in
evil but rejoices with the truth. It always
protects, always trusts, always hopes, always
perseveres”

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Love has
no place in business?..

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© Contexis 2017
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