Most for-profit organizations are built around the goal of profit maximization.  However, as millennials and Gen Z demand jobs with “purpose,” and the salary gap widens between the C-Suite and the front line, many people now recognize the need for a revamped approach to business.  In his new book, THE PROSPERITY LOOP: A Wealth Creation Model for Socially Conscious Leaders, Their Teams, and Their Communities (Redwood Publishing), business veteran Chris Lautenslager offers a roadmap for building organizational success that encompasses prosperity for all stakeholders – both financially and personally. 

“The Prosperity Loop is for the leader who leans toward building a socially conscious organization, community, or society without abandoning the reality of operating a profitable business,” explains Lautenslager, who learned and applied these practices over his forty-year career.  “This approach is for those who want to acknowledge, thank, and reward the people who keep the wheels of the organization turning. It is for those who want to shape an organization that celebrates a legacy of collaborative purpose and success.”

The key, the author says, is understanding that prioritizing people is not synonymous with sacrificing profits.  With real-world examples from such companies as TOMS, Ben & Jerry’s, Impact Makers, JUST Capital, and PayPal, THE PROSPERITY LOOP lays out the six principles Lautenslager has identified as the core for creating and sharing business wealth.  They are: 

Common Vision – Ideally, everyone in the organization shares a common perspective on the guiding principles and direction of where the organization is going and what it stands for.  “This is the source and fuel that will truly propel growth, profitability, and cultural strength,” writes Lautenslager.  He details three primary methods for shaping common vision, whether it stems from the leader, the company’s people, or from small teams within the organization. 

Cooperation and Collaboration – Creating a Prosperity Loop involves establishing an environment in which “collaboration and cooperation” becomes a natural by-product of daily operations.  Lautenslager explains how to adapt hiring processes to ensure that companies hire and retain employees who subscribe to the common vision. He also describes how to partner with vendors and suppliers who align with that vision. 

Value Creation – “Within the Prosperity Loop model, a company’s value and its values are of equal importance,” writes the author.  He guides leaders through the process of aligning their values with the company vision, and provides steps for creating greater organizational integrity – including establishing expectations for behavior, making time count, and rewarding success. 

Circular Communication – “Everyone ultimately has an imprint on everything that occurs in and influences organizational culture. The value of having circular communication is in being able to hear and learn from one another for the betterment of the whole,” says Lautensberger. In THE PROSPERITY LOOP, he details effective ways to create a culture that solicits honest feedback – such as taking morning walks around the office, holding “lunch mash-ups,” and using anonymous internal polls or posting boards.   

Shared Rewards – People need to feel both involved and appreciated to strive toward a greater, more comprehensive sense of fulfillment. Otherwise, employees start feeling as though they are in a constant state of competition. Lautenslager explores multiple ways to structure financial compensation with the goal of maximizing community contributions. This includes bonuses, matched cash contributions, stock grants and discounted stock purchase plans, and low-interest, short-term loans.  

Assessments and Adjustments – Traditionally, assessments are viewed as “what went wrong and how we will fix it.”  However, a prosperous organization evolves assessments and adjustments to include a focus on what went right, why it did, and how things can be made even better. 

“The Prosperity Loop is about creating a culture of expectation for high performance, high integrity, and high reward that extends within and far beyond your organization,” attests Lautenslager.  His book THE PROSPERITY LOOP is a step-by-step handbook for creating this culture within any company.