Equal Exchange

Conscious Commerce can only exist when one has achieved balance in every aspect of a business relationship. To be in balance, individuals, the companies they work for, owners, clients and vendors must all be in balance with one another. An easy way to look at balance is through the lens of equal exchange.

When one party is in equal exchange with another, they are giving something that has equal value to the person who receives it, as the thing that person or entity is giving back in return. For the employee-employer relationship, parties are in equal exchange with one another when the value of the work performed equals the monetary compensation provided in return for that work. In a client-vendor relationship the same holds true.

Notice the VERY big concepts I’m including, like “value” and “balance”. These ideas have all but disappeared from the equation of successful business, but are being forced back into our vocabulary by the shift in our global economy and the personal and business values that drive it.

Get used to these concepts. Understand what they mean to your and your business they are here to stay and will redefine how we operate. Those who adjust quickly have an opportunity to leap to the top of their industry, while those who languish in the old way of thinking will see themselves become irrelevant, unimportant and ultimately disappear.

There’s only room for equal exchange now. Only balance will do.