Does spirituality mix with
commerce?
Inspirational quotes at Starbucks start storm in a coffee
cup
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Oct. 25: CNBC’s Jerry Cobb examines
the growing influence of spirituality in commerce.
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By Jerry Cobb - Reporter - CNBC -
Updated: 12:54 p.m. ET Oct. 26, 2005
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Jerry Cobb
Reporter
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LOS
ANGELES - Starting in the spring, Starbucks is reportedly planning to
include a spiritually-inspired quotation on its coffee cups.
The
coffee company wants customers to think as they drink, but the words,
which will come from Rev. Rick Warren, the author of the inspirational
best-seller “The Purpose-driven Life,” look set to take the strategy to
a higher level by invoking the name of the Almighty for the first time.
“This is not
putting churches, or synagogues, or mosques out of business, it’s
simply a smaller kind of daily delivery of spirituality,” notes Laura
Nash, a lecturer at Harvard Business School. “People are hungry for
that at work.”
Corporate
America has traditionally maintained a strict separation between church
and office. But in a growing number of firms, that wall is coming down.
“We’ve treated
religion or spirituality as a personal thing for so long, when the
reality is people do not check their souls at the door when they go to
work,” says B.J. Gallagher, author of “What Would Buddha Do at Work?”
In
fact, you can find a reference to the Book of John on drink cups from
fast food chain In-N-Out Burger. And you can also find a religious
quotation on shopping bags from fashion retailer Forever 21 — a subtle,
yet significant testament to the higher values that guide both
companies.
And at Chicago law firm Mauck &
Baker, religious values are central to the practice according to
attorney John Mauck.
We
try to make Jesus the center of everything we do,” Mauck said recently.
“Throughout the day, groups of us will be praying for different cases
that we’re working on, or different problems that we face.”
At
a time when 98 percent of Americans say they believe in God, and 46
percent of those who work say they are dispirited, it's not surprising
that more companies are embracing spiritual or religious
values.
But
in so doing, companies run a real risk of appearing to pander to
customers who are religious, or risk offending those who are not.
Companies
must ask how far down the path of spirituality they are willing to
venture without just turning it into one more way of making an extra
dollar says Laura Nash of Harvard Business School.
And
while it's tough to calculate a return on investment a company derives
from religion, or spirituality, companies that are embracing these
values are convinced that, in the long run, they can do well by doing
good.
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