I read this interesting story in The Toronto Star, written by Janis Foord Kirk, in the Business section on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009. The article entitled, “Pyramid power works building a career”, talks about how CEO, Chip Conley, used Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Pyramid to develop his own streamlined pyramid leading to great success.

The Conley pyramid, which is described in a book he has written, Peak, How great Companies Get Their Mojo from Maslow, is streamlined to three essential layers: survival is still the base, followed by success and at the peak, transformation. Conley decided to build all his business relationships with employees, customers and investors around this new pyramid. He had a sincere desire to help these individuals meet their own needs of survival, success and transformation. The article goes on to describe how successful he has been with his company, Joie de Vivre, by using this pyramid.

At the end of the article Kirk tells us about Conley’s “karmic capitalism” theory. When applied to the business world, Conley says, “Karma means that individuals in companies consider the long-term effect of their actions on the environment, the community, their relationships and themselves.”

What would the business world be like if everyone; employees, employers, suppliers, etc. all applied this very principle?  If everyone helped to meet the needs of others’ survival, success and transformation, all the while considering the long-term effects of their actions on the environment, community, their relationships and themselves, wouldn’t going to work be fun and exciting, no matter what your job was. Would changing up the “why” we go to work make us all happy and help us lead more fulfilling lives? And if companies were more successful because of this change of attitude, why wouldn’t they buy in?

Think about it. How could going to work everyday and applying Conley’s pyramid change your work environment?  Would it be better? Would there be pitfalls?