Tsering's Smile
Tsering is the name of the Tibetan Buddhist monk who greeted our ragged group of high school students at the Delhi train station. Tsering had traveled 15 hours overnight from Dharamsala by public bus to meet us and ride right back up to Dharamsala with us. We had just finished our own 16 hour overnight train ride from Bodh Gaya. Delhi is the largest train station in Asia, which likely makes it the largest on Earth, which means it’s pretty crowded, and noisy, and dirty. My friend Eric, co-leader of this Senior Project, described India as Mardi Gras in Times Square, on New Year’s Eve, everywhere, all the time. Delhi train station would be under The Ball.
Our third co-leader Kevin, was on edge – bombs had exploded nearby during his last student trip to India. Kevin didn’t need the recent Mumbai bombings as a reminder. Coming from the relative peace of sitting under the Bodhi tree at the site of Siddhartha’s awakening into Buddhahood video, the chaos, cacophany, and trash-strewn urban-ness of Delhi train station had us all tense. Our Indian guide was nowhere to be seen. We were supposed to arrive at 10am and it was now closer to 1pm. Not bad for Indian trains, but making it more difficult for meet-ups. We were hungry, tired, and tense. ‘Stand right here in this spot. It’s relatively clean (read: no lepers; no human waste). Hold on to your backpacks. Don’t move. We’ll try to find our guide.’
Tsering appears like sunshine through the clouds. His smile melts our tension like ice cream in the Delhi heat. He greets us each in turn. ‘Hello, my name is Tsering.’ Nothing fancy. No holy mantram. No incense. No divine Om reverberating in our chests. Just simple eye contact, a two-hand shake, and a smile. Each of the twelve of us in turn. It took 90 seconds for Tsering to make his way through our group, stepping around backpacks to stand with each person.
Tsering’s smile spreads like a virus, inoculating rather than infecting us. Within 90 seconds, our individual and collective energy has been transformed. We are now enjoying this moment, not enduring the morning. We feel connected. We feel we matter.
I know it’s more than a stretch, but stay with me. Tsering’s smile hit me like a bottle of Newman’s Own salad dressing – which you probably know gives 100% of its profits to charity. It made me smile. I felt like it mattered. It made me look at the world in a different way. I looked for possibilities. I looked with intention at how my everyday choices – as consumer and as businessman – could make a difference. Riffing off Bill McDonough, ‘what is the best business we could design if we designed it with the intention to maximize benefit to society, not just shareholders’? This basically describes the birth of the B Corporation. Why B Corps Matter
Inspired by Paul Newman’s example, I looked for other businesspeople who were making money and making a difference. I was blown away with what I saw. Blown away because there were thousands of businesspeople who were doing the same thing and their example inspired me. They were looking at business as a tool for social change. Some were, like Newman, using their profits to benefit children. Some were using their products to serve the poor. Some were improving their practices to restore the environment, build stronger communities or great places to work.
They were looking at each part of their supply chain as Tsering looked at each one of us – Hello, my name is Mary. Can I lend you some money? ShoreBank Hello, my name is Julius. Would you like a job? Greyston Bakery Hello, my name is John. Did you know that a cup of coffee could serve the poor? Pura Vida Coffee
It starts with intention. Tsering’s intention is to see each of us clearly. In his sight, we feel worth seeing. This is the same intention of the entrepreneurs I met – to see each business relationship clearly and to look deeply at each part of their supply chain – customer, employee, supplier – as a relationship, not a transaction. A relationship built on the recognition that each is an equal in the light of the sun, or whatever life-giving force in which you believe. A relationship that carries within it the possibility to be rich and rewarding for both.
My hope is that as you get to know some of the entrepreneurs in this blog, you will experience Tsering’s smile and warm to the possibilities of business approached with intention. Of business being used to address social and environmental problems. Of business being conducted as if people and place mattered. The possibility that business conducted with intention can be the change we seek.
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