For any concept to be useful in the practical, what will it do for me now, world of business, it must be defined in a way that is operational.

Few words are more fuzzy than spiritual or spirituality. The very concept seems to defy any concrete definition. Let me suggest that an ultimate defintion may be well beyond our capability, but developing a definition that is useful is not.

In some places spiritual capital is being equated with participation in formal religion. I find this unfortunate because my own experience does not lend credence to the idea that formal religion has any exclusive patent on spirituality; although for most, the discipline of formal religion is the training ground for spirituality. The Templeton Foundation is funding research and John Templeton has done an admirable job in his pioneering promotion of spirituality and its link to health, business and general well-bing.

Spirituality simply refers to our aspirations, our guidance, our connections not founded in the material world, but rather from some source, we regard as more noble. I think there are two key components of spirituality in the workplace that are of genuine value, assets, to the organization. The first is the degree to which members of the organization are committed to an ennobling purpose; and second, the degree to which shared values serve to guide ethical behavior.

A worthy purpose, the impulse to do something significant, to make a contribution to humanity, is the most fundamental form of motivation. Great leaders instill a sense of noble purpose in their followers and thereby create human energy.

Shared values, the discipline of adherence to a code of values within a group, is the basis of trust and sociability. Just as low-trust societies are economically handicapped, so to are low-trust companies.

To the degree that an organization can enable, support, or encourage a depth of personal morality and dedication to a noble purpose, it possesses spiritual capital.

Wealth will be achieved by the country, company, team, and individual able to create the currency of competition in the new capitalism. The measurement of wealth will not be by money alone, but the abundance of all five forms of capital.

Capital and capitalism need redefining. Capitalism is not only the private control of financial capital, it is also the private control of social capital, human capital, spiritual capital, and technology or process capital. What you own when you buy the stock of a company, is not merely the value reported on the balance sheet and income statement. If you knew that a corporation, with no current income, had just hired a team of scientists who had the capability to discover the cure for cancer, the financial statements would in no way reflect the value of that firm. The same is true of Pixar and almost every other firm whose value is in human talent and creativity. If you knew that the leaders of a company adhered to the highest ethical standards and were motivated by a worthy purpose that inspired the members of the organization to their highest possible efforts, the value of the firm would be greater than if the reverse were true. And, if you knew that the firm had instituted the most productive and effective sales, manufacturing and product development processes, you would know that the firm possessed an asset that might be deficient in another firm. True wealth, net asset value, is not measured by the financial balance sheet.

What I have attempted to do in my new book is to define what really matters in the process of wealth creation. Of course, it is easiest to measure cash flow, net income and the financial balance sheet. But, most often, this is not the root cause of either building great companies or their decline and defeat. Rather, it is much more likely in the success or failure of human, social or spiritual capital. Many companies that are gaining market share, such as Toyota and Honda, are doing so because of their superiority in process capital. If you have organized your production process according to “lean production” you have acquired an asset, the asset of process capital.

Many companies, particularly those that depend most on human performance, rely on social, human and spiritual capital. Examples of these types of capital and what you can do to develop them, will be the primary subject of future posts on this blog. It is also the focus of my soon to be published book.

Social capital has been the subject of investigation by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as factors in economic development. It is now well accepted that countries must develop in a balanced way, both socially and economically. No country that relegates half of its population, women, to menial roles and supresses free expression and science, can possibly develop economically to compete in the world market place.

Social Capital on a country level is generally considered to be the degree of trust, social networks, or what Francis Fukuyama calls “sociability” which defines the “radius of trust” prevelant in a culture. This, Fukuyama found to be a predictor of economic progress since all commerce is ultimately an act of trust or sociability. If it is true that the degree of sociability is related to economic progress, isn’t it also logical that the degree of internal sociability within a firm may be related to its ability to innovate, to solve problems, and to make effective decisions? I have attempted to define not only social capital, but human, spiritual, and technology or process capital within an organization (private or non-profit) and provide a roadmap to building these forms of soft-capital that are the necessary anticedents to financial capital.

This poor blog has been too neglected in recent months and there is only one guilty party, me.

Now I promise to be better behaved. I have just finished a book, again, again… Yes I thought I was finished with this several times previously, but this time it is off to be published and should be available very soon.

For those who don’t know, this is about my fifth book (I say about because it all depends upon what you choose to count, training manuals, very short books, etc.). The title is Competing in the New Capitalism.

From the back cover:

This book is about the self-initiated, free enterprise transformation of capitalism into something better. Capitalism is transforming, not because of the external force of regulation, but because of the internal exertion of virtuous self-interest.

Today, every organization is struggling to create the new currency of competition. In the early days of capitalism, money mattered most. We have entered a new phase of capitalism and the rules have changed. To be a player in the tomorrow’s business, you will have to master the creation of five forms of capital or wealth: social, human, spiritual, financial and process or technology. These are the keys to competition. However, most organizations have not yet learned to manage these new forms of capital. This book is about creating the currency of competition in the new capitalism.
This new capital resides at three levels: the organization, team and individual. This book defines the most important disciplines that unify energy and effort toward common business strategy. These are the currencies, which build the bank account of each of the five forms of capital. The pursuit of all five forms of capital will define not only your organization’s success, but also that of your team, and your personal net worth.
Mr. Miller has redefined the nature of wealth and given us a roadmap to achieving it.
The workplace of today is different because of the competitive urge to produce innovative and high quality goods and services. Creativity and commitment are the fuel of commercial competition and they only come from people who are fully engaged. We, the business community, will transform capitalism again, not because of compliance to external regulation, but because we must, to compete.

Mr. Miller has brought unity to the concept of wealth. He has provided a roadmap for creating both personal wealth, effective teams, and an organization that creates not only economic value, but ennobles the human spirit.