Did you know that there is a 40% chance you are a member of the cooperative movement? In this episode we speak with three brilliant voices behind the modern cooperative movement: Dick Williams, Alex Tsoucatos, and Karin Di Giacomo. At the center of the discussion is Dick's recent book, The Cooperative Movement: Globalization from Below. We explore what a cooperative actually is, looking at real life business examples including the agricultural cooperatives of the mid-west, credit unions, and other businesses you may not have even known were cooperatives.

We also discuss the history of the cooperative movement itself, seeing that in many ways the cooperative movement can be found throughout history in such basic institutions as religious monasteries and even families themselves. We finish off this intellectually engaging dialogue by debating whether or not the cooperative movement could be seen as a 3rd way to the usual dichotomy of capitalism and socialism. Listen in and find out what our guests think.

This is part 1 of a two-part series.

Additional Resources:

The Cooperative Movement: Globalization from Below, by Dick Williams

In Part 2 of our conversation with Brian and Tom of HolacracyOne, we dive deeper into the principles of Holacracy. We talk about the notion of dynamic steering, the opposite of predicting and controlling the direction of an organization, where new information can be quickly and effectively processed and used to steer in the moment. We also discuss individual action, or the holacratic principle of acting individually and breaking the rules when you have to. Brian also talks with us in more detail about Holacracy as a organizational practice and how it relates to a business as a whole becoming conscious and not just individuals within that organization. Join us for the dialogue and be sure to check out www.holacracy.org for more information.

Additional Resources

- Holacracy.org
- Organization at the Leading Edge: Introducing Holacracy [pdf download]

This week we converse with Brian Robertson and Tom Thomison of HolacracyOne and explore the organizational structure of Holacracy—what it is, how it is being used, and how it is helping organizations wake up. Brian explains to us the multi-faceted nature of Holacracy and how it functions as an organizational structure, a process for making decisions, and a concrete practice for organizational meetings. Brian and Tom also touch upon what is called a representative link and explain its practical function for carrying feedback from lower parts of an organization to the higher parts of an organization. Finally we touch on the idea of organizational tensions, and how Holacracy helps address issues and opportunities that arise in the day-to-day working of an organization.

Join us for the dialogue, as we explore what it means to put conscious business into practice. This is Part 1 of a 2 part series. Listen to Part 2.

Additional Resources

- Holacracy.org
- Organization at the Leading Edge: Introducing Holacracy [pdf download]

A great portion of the conscious business movement involves the sale of spiritual accessories and practices. This week we are back with Waylon Lewis, founder–editor of Elephant Journal, exploring whether or not businesses selling spiritual objects are necessarily conscious businesses. For example, can a business selling meditation cushions that have been made in sweat shops, shipped half-way around the globe, and sold by underpaid employees still be a conscious business? In this episode we dive into a number of interesting topics including the perils of spiritual materialism, the impact of business on spiritual traditions, and the politics of yoga studios.

This week we converse with Waylon Lewis, founder-editor of Elephant Journal, along with Dave Rogers and Abbey Smith. In our dialogue, Waylon describes his path starting Elephant Journal, moving from a small locally distributed magazine to what is now a nationally distributed journal. Abbey brings the perspective of someone working at Elephant describing the day to day culture, while Dave brings an outside business perspective of the magazine industry as former publisher of the Onion. Together we explore Elephant's vision for and relationship to the conscious business movement, the ethical challenges of the magazine industry, and the nature of democracy and independent media. Join us for this especially hilarious episode.