全食CEO：过于关注业绩会迷失目标

    马基认为，以远大目标作为行动准则所带来的良好结果不一定总是人们所预期、或甚至希望的结果。“它取决于我们行动的质量和外部因素。结果可能会跟预想不同，但是要好得多。”

    不同而且更好，如何实现？马基向我讲述了他在书中所提到的一个案例，讲的是全食品超市康涅狄格州哈特福德市店面的团队的故事。当时，暴风雪即将来临，收银台也停止了工作，但他们仍然坚持免费向人们分发食品。马基补充说：“它带来了铺天盖地的正面媒体报道和随之而来的善意，而这些远远超过了预期。”

    我觉得，除了极端的愤世嫉俗者之外，地球上的人都能正确地猜到，免费分发食品会带来正面的评价，而且这个举动最终也会实现利润的最大化。但是马基坚持认为，全食品的成长依赖于他敢于尝试的个人意志。书中写道：“在我实现自我成长之前，整个公司难以得到成长，这种情况在全食品市场的历史上发生过不止一次——换句话来说，我在拖公司的后腿。我个人的成长成就了公司的成长。”

    马基认为，心理或志气停滞不前的领导人可能会影响公司的发展前景以及公司适应不断变化的市场状况的能力。但是在用坚定的眼光打量外部世界之前，企业领导人首先需要洞悉自己的内心。

    《自觉资本主义》推荐了多条实践内容。马基和西索迪亚称这些实践将提高人们的领导能力，这些建议包括：“提升……自我认知，以便我们洞悉我们是否在真正地追随自己的内心。”以及“利用恐惧所创造的能量让自己的身心更为专注于当前的这一刻——即恐惧不存在的这一刻。”如果你的情商还难以理解这一切的话，请再加把劲。说起来容易做起来难。

    这两位联合作者发起了一场英勇的捍卫战，捍卫对象包括维多利亚时代的自我救赎和书中所强调的个性的刻意塑造——他们还建议，如果你不知道自己想模仿的对象是谁，那么请参照“那些生动体现了高贵品格的虚拟人物，例如哈柏•李的小说《杀死一只知更鸟》（To Kill a Mockingbird）中的艾蒂科斯•芬奇，或者J.K.罗琳《哈利波特》（Harry Potter）系列小说中的阿不思•邓不利多。”

    书中继续写道，“人们可以问，‘为什么我会因此而生气？’‘为什么我会因此而兴奋？’‘为什么我会嫉妒那个人？’‘为什么我会为此而感到高兴？’‘为什么我会体验到爱情？’”最后的忠告是：如果你并不愿意去阅读你自己曾做过的事，那么这件事还是不做为妙。“当自己的所作所为登上了头版头条时，人们会有自己的感受。人们应该用这种感受来审视自己的每一个行为。”

    对于这场艰苦卓绝的自我分析，马基在其电子邮件中所总结的最后辩护竟如此神秘地和纪录片《惊天秘密》（The Secret）扯上了关系——但考虑到此人拥有一家市值159.5亿美元的公司，因此这个结论吸引了众多的眼球。为什么要如此大费周章呢？在马基看来，这会让你更有吸引力。

    “关键在于，当你心怀善意做善事的时候，你就创建了很多新的、意想不到的关联。你成为了一块‘吸铁石’，把很多做同样事情的人吸引到你的身边。这种效应将不断扩大，并以协同和意外的方式来充实你未来打算去做的事情。”

    Mackey allows that good outcomes from acting in line with one's higher purpose may not always be the expected, or even hoped-for, results. "Depending on the quality of our actions and external factors, they could be different but far better."

    Different and better, how? Mackey pointed me to a story in his book of how Whole Foods (WFM) team members at its Hartford, Conn. store gave away free groceries as a snowstorm loomed and cash registers stopped functioning. "It resulted in an outpouring of positive media coverage and resultant goodwill that far exceeded anything they had expected," Mackey added.

    It's not too cynical, I hope, to imagine someone on the ground there had correctly guessed that giving away groceries would generate positive word-of-mouth, and that that might ultimately maximize profits. But Mackey is intent on insisting that the growth of Whole Foods depended on his personal willingness to experiment. From the book: "More than once in the history of Whole Foods Market, the company was unable to collectively evolve until I myself was able to evolve -- in other words, I was holding the company back. My personal growth enabled the company to evolve."

    Mackey maintains that a leader who is psychologically or spiritually stuck can hinder a company's growth prospects and ability to adapt to shifting market circumstances. But to look outward with a clear eye, business leaders need to look inward first.

    Conscious Capitalism recommends several practices that Mackey and Sisodia claim will heighten a person's leadership ability, with suggestions like: "Enhance … self-awareness so we know when we are truly following our hearts," and "Use the energy that fear creates to focus the mind more intently on the present moment --where fear doesn't exist." If you're not emotionally intelligent, try harder. Easier said than done.

    The co-authors launch into a spirited defense of Victorian-era self-help and its emphasis on the deliberate cultivation of character -- and suggest that if you don't know anyone personally whose behavior you want to emulate, look "to fictional characters who vividly express admirable virtues, such as Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird or Albus Dumbledore in J. K Rowling's series of Harry Potter novels."

    "It's useful to ask," the book continues, "'Why does this make me angry?' 'Why am I excited about that?' 'Why am I envious of that person?' 'Why do I feel joyful about this?' 'Why am I experiencing love?'"

    One final word of advice: If you wouldn't want to read about you having done it, maybe don't do it. "Examine our every action through the lens of how we would feel if it were to become front page news."

    Mackey's final justification for this strenuous self-analysis, which concluded his email, is so mystical it verges on The Secret-territory -- but it's compelling coming from someone whose company has a $15.95 billion market cap. Why go to all this trouble? In Mackey's view, it makes you more attractive.

    "The key point is that when you do something good with the right motives, you make a lot of new and unanticipated connections. You become an 'attractor,' pulling people toward you who are doing similar things. This multiplies and extends what you set out to do in synergistic and serendipitous ways."