I was once a skeptic of the idea of karma in business. It seemed like “paying it forward” was a buzz phrase and most businesses were just out to raise stock values and make as much money as possible.
This was before I experienced a series of life and business altering events that changed my opinion on karma in business, which I write about extensively in Looptail.
Karma and the notion of paying it forward is central to what we are doing at G Adventures. One huge step in getting to this point was creating our NGO arm, Planeterra that helps local people develop their communities, conserve their environments, and provide social solutions to local business challenges in communities that our trips and travellers visit. We’re paying it forward to communities that our business touches.
Through initiatives like our Women’s Weaving Co-op in Peru, we are now helping to solve social problems and find business solutions in local communities that our travellers visit.
In addition to helping to build these sustainable community projects, we have found a differentiator for our business through Planeterra – with the help of our travellers, we have created something that makes us stand out amongst our competitors. Please visit planeterra.org to learn more about our social enterprise at work.
In fact, the title of my book Looptail: How One Company Changed the World by Reinventing Business was originally Looptail: Why Community, Culture and Karma Matter in Business . I now believe that nothing is an accident and everything happens for a reason. It’s all part of the Looptail.
This week, on Looptail.com, we are going to highlight some interesting articles around karma and the notion of “paying it forward” in business and society. We’d love to know what you think about some of these articles so feel free to comment and have your voice heard.
Peace,
Bruce
I’m a big believer in The Law of Reciprocity which states that “all transmissions of energy result in a return of energy in like kind.” Paying it forward is a great way to stack karmic credit and it helps the world in the process.
I’ve been following G Adventures since you guys were Gap Adventures and am inspired by the socially-innovative, for-profit, hybrid business model you’ve been able to successfully develop and scale around the globe.
I look forward to Looptail’s launch and the future articles on paying it forward.
Keep up the great work, Bruce!