Kindness

Common room.

Is this where you all hang out?

I don’t hang out.

Is this where you have a cup of tea together, a nice chat? Pore over the magazines together?

Examining the titles. Journal of Critical Management Studies. Inclusive Capitalism Bulletin. Yearbook of the Centre for Compassion and Altruism Research: sharing research practices for fostering happiness, resilience, kindness and connection: that’s the tagline.  

Business Dialogue magazine. Here’s the mission statement: Facilitating discussion among business stakeholders on issues related to local social responsibility and sustainability. That’s really snappy. I love it when capitalism does ethics.

How come you look down your nose at all these things. Are you some kind of commie?

Cicero used to call us libtard commies. She was brought up behind the iron curtain. When there still was an iron curtain.

So she was anti-left?

She was of the superior left – that’s what she called it.

Actually, business studies has gone rather anti-capitalist. It’s all ESG now.

Sure, capitalism does woke. I’ve heard about that.

It’s all about kindness and diversity.

Sure, it’s right here: the kindness board. Reading: Embedding kindness behaviours in the organisation culture. Planting seeds of kindness. Kindness is Contagious … Pass It On. No one can agree on the word, compassion, but we agree on kindness. No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

That’s the Dalai Lama, I think. It’s kindness week. Or kindness month. Or kindness season. Actually, I think it’s permanent kindness now.

You know you’re in trouble when corporate types start taking about ethics …