ChrisCorrigan has been reading and quoting some stuff that I’ve been saving and want bring out here, as time allows. In the meantime, he adds this to what I posted recently as CorporateCompassion,
Reading this immediately brought to mind a quote from (who else?) Vaclav Havel, out of a short essay he published in the most recent issue of TheWalrus. The essay is called The Culture of Enterprise and it aligns nicely with Michael’s writing and something I posted a few weeks ago on the nature of my business activities:
…it’s worth stressing that entrepreneurship is above all about the creation of values, not about the accumulation of wealth. Of course material gain – profit – is the force that drives the market economy, but it should be understood to a far greater extent as an essential instrument of human creativity, not as an end in itself. By far the best way for an entrepreneur to support culture is by shaping the culture of his or her own enterprise, its quality and its significance. The human and social measures of success, common sense, humility before the mysteries of nature and the world, consideration for future generations, a well-developed conscience – all of these things have to enter into the creation of the culture of entrepreneurship.
Practice first, and profit follows.