Business & Non-Dualism

By Justin Foster

One of the many reasons Virginia and I decided to start Massive is that we are both a blend of science and soul; pragmatic and spiritual. We bring this twin spirit to the work we do for our clients. In her excellent and thought-provoking two-part essay, Virginia made a strong case for why business leaders need to embrace complexity science. Read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Now it’s my turn to share why business leaders need to embrace non-dualism.

Traditionally, non-dualism is a spiritual term - most often used in Buddhism. But in recent years, we’ve seen the mystical and material realms converge more and more. Case in point… all of the talk about mindfulness and consciousness in the business world.

Via the publication Rupert Spira, here is the nerd definition of non-duality:

Non-duality is the recognition that underlying the multiplicity and diversity of experience there is a single, infinite and indivisible reality, whose nature is pure consciousness, from which all objects and selves derive their apparently independent existence.

Oof. I’ve immersed myself in this topic and I am not even sure what that means!

So here is my much simpler definition …

Non-duality is seeing the Third Way.

It is the initial awareness that most of what is presented as binary or dualistic is an illusion - often in order to control people. Then it is the growing awareness that there is often a third (or more) option to almost everything.

Why is this important in the business world?

In recent years, we have learned that life, humans, and the planet are wildly unpredictable. As are the systems we use to understand, manage and navigate these areas.

The same is true for businesses. At least 50% of business is a complete mystery; a vast unknown that unfolds in radically unexpected ways. True leadership has always been much more about stepping into this unknown than managing the known. But most business leaders don’t have the courage to embrace the unknown, let alone lead people into it. (Our friends at Red Team Thinking do this sort of work for large corporations).

The demand for predictability (often from shareholders) has made business leaders addicted to certainty. This addiction to certainty has over-indexed the value of information. The Roman philosopher Lucretius said over 2000 years ago, “Fear was the first thing on Earth to create gods.” In this sense, fear of the unknown has made data an idol.

The addiction to controlling the future also is part of the DNA of traditional branding and marketing. Pretense has become reality. Despite review sites, social media, Glassdoor, and other “fishbowl” platforms, business leaders remain convinced that they can brand and market their way to a knowable and comfortable future. This has made them quite Machiavellian about marketing; justifying gaslighting tactics that prey on fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

Where did this mindset come from? I trace it back to a sort of dark intersectionalism: the combination of patriarchy, supremacy (in all forms), and the industrial revolution. It created a mindset (and permission for) domination, intrusion, theft. It encouraged linear, non-ethical thinking. All of which created the drive to hit the numbers, to reach the goal, to consumate power. I call this obsession “finishing” … and we know how obsessed most men are about finishing. 😏

The fixation on finishing is why I created a counter concept called, not surprisingly, “Unfinishing.” Unfinishing is the Third Way in action. It is not just an acceptance of the unknown as part of the process of improvement and growth. It is the acceptance that we control far less than our egos tell us. It is the embracing of the feminine - of chaos that destroys what’s not true or that which has gone stagnate. Unfinishing is cyclical, seasonal, iterative, evolutionary. I am convinced that Unfinishing is far closer to reality than what we perceive reality to be.

“Insight is not a constant,
insight is rather a spectrum.
At the beginning dualities rule,
deeper you dive, dualities disappear.”
― Abhijit Naskar

Non-dualism in business is way too much of a complex concept for one essay but there are a few insights and/or starting points I can share through these principles of Unfinishing.

1. Everything is on a continuum.
   Yes, done is better than perfect. But done is temporary. There will always be iterations and improvements. Not because your product or business model is flawed but because it always involves people. Cultures get stagnate. The market is fickle. See the continuum and you will see the path forward.
   

2. Humans are three dimensional.
   Humans are minds, bodies, and souls. As Virginia wrote about in her series, Newtonian thinking (along with industrialization) saw people as machines, or parts in a machine. Labor and workplace safety laws and other regulations forced businesses to take better care of the bodies of their employees. The last two decades have brought more light to the mental health of employees. But it takes true enlightened leadership to see your employees and customers as souls, not just roles. This is the role of purpose; of organizing your brand around your mission, values, and vision for the future.
   

3. Ideas are iterative.
   Ideas are often seen as keys that open locks. It is assumed that if a key opened a lock the first time, it will work again. That may be true with machines, but out in the free market of ideas, both the key and the lock evolve. There will always be new problems that will require new solutions. Even when the “new” solution is some sort of ancient idea (like non-dualism!), it’s application is iterative to the current situation and condition. Allowing both the key and the lock to iterate will keep you sharp and humble.
   

4. Energy is information.
   Our own histories will show us that intuition, when listened to with a clear mind, is 100% right. Spiritually, intuition is feminine energy. By design, patriarchal systems have suppressed or diminished the feminine. Unfinishing brings the feminine back into the proper place in leadership and decision-making. If we can tune in to our intuition, we can see that energy is giving us data - about ideas, people, situations, decisions.
   

5. There’s almost always a Third Way
   Certainly, many things are binary. Maybe scrutiny will reveal that there are only two options, two sides. But the process of Third Way thinking will open your mind. It will reduce the impulse to rush to a decision; to react impulsively to both perceived threats and perceived opportunities. The Third Way might just be a pause to gather more insight from the people around you. As you exercise it, you will see Third Ways appearing before. Then you will be truly innovating.

Non-dualism in business is bad news for authoritarian leaders and their economically co-dependent consultants and analysts. But I’m not delusional that this way of thinking will be the business norm any time soon. In the mean time, if you are a conscious leader or entrepreneur that embraces Unfinishing, you will quickly find that non-dualism makes you more empathic, empathetic, and creative. These will become differentiators that will attract the right people to you. And if you do it right, it will reveal the category or conversation that you can own.