Grenoble Ecole de Management Wants to Lead Business Schools to Economic Peace

In fact, Steiler spends much time educating people on the details and how businesses can buy into this theory. And he has firsthand knowledge of war and peace; he was a fighter pilot in the French army. In his position as chair, he takes a holistic approach and sees connections between mindfulness at work and economic peace.

“Clearly, a state of war does not favor openings and prospects,” he writes on his school-sponsored website. “On the contrary, it leads us to toughen our defenses, ‘he who wants peace prepares for war!’... We are firmly opposed to this vision. We are at war, yes, but ‘he who wants peace... prepares for peace!’ And in our opinion, this peace must also be economic and must reconsider the value of work.”

In other words, businesses can’t consume themselves with the sole purpose of making money. They’ve to consider themselves part of a greater community to which they must contribute to a common good. That common good means they sometimes partner with their known competitors, and also treat their employees with empathy and humanity.

Those who want to be leaders in economic peace must be warriors for the cause. They’ve to show strength, face aggressions because this isn’t a traditional model, and take their employees, consumers, the environment, and other outside forces into consideration when making decisions, says Steiler.

Truly, warriors for peace through business must take an entirely different approach to management, he adds. For instance, Steiler tells the story of a manager who became angry with a group of employees and then felt guilty about it. Instead of letting it go or doubling down, he apologized to the entire group.

The manager realized he made a mistake, took responsibility, and asked for forgiveness. In reality, he was weak when he was being harsh and strong when he was willing to own up to his errors, says Steiler. It’s that kind of shift in perception that clarifies the idea of promoting peace.

GEM partners with 11 businesses, such as automotive parts leader ARaymond, to promote mindfulness and economic peace as part of the center. In 2008, ARaymond faced crisis as a result of the great global recession, but its leaders decided to accept the losses without firing anyone.

They promoted non-violent communication, a mode of speaking that aims to eliminate negativity and aggression and foster the development of human values. In addition, they created a strategy based on human beings and incorporated mindfulness into their work life, and in the end, the company thrived. It went from having 2,500 employees in 2008 to 7,200 today, and also earned $1.2 billion in revenue in 2017.

Roche puts emphasis on Steiler’s promotion of economic peace because it fits perfectly with GEM’s new mission. It has evolved from business school to a school for business for society, says Roche. As always, GEM is focused on teaching students how to solve the problems of tomorrow, he explains, but now professors are also helping students build tomorrow from scratch. Ultimately, businesspeople have to use their skills to do more than line the pockets of shareholders and constantly increase the bottom line.

GEM’s other efforts to align with this mission include seeking equality among staff, offering education to migrants, and reaching zero waste by 2020. Steiler’s book is being translated to English, and he is seeking a publisher.

In addition, the center’s name will change to Center for Economic Peace, Mindfulness and Well-being at Work to reflect the changing priorities of the school’s partners and their markets. And in 2019, the school plans to launch the international trophies for economic peace to applaud those with plans to implement a relevant plan promoting these concepts within the next two years.

Ultimately, the idea is empathetic businesses will be successful and lift up the people of their community. If the people and their land are nurtured, the uprisings and conflicts will cease. Changing your approach to management and the treatment of others, not to mention yourself, will make all the difference. But people have to be willing to dramatically evolve in their perception of management and the corporate world. GEM hopes it can guide them on this journey.

“The brain is not the only leader,” reminds Steiler. “You must also speak to the heart.”