Businesses with purpose: This book discusses 14 Mexican case studies

“We’re passionate about the power of purpose in creating an economy that works for everyone and that treats the environment and society as key stakeholders,” say Raj Sisodia and Raúl Romero in the book “Mexican Companies: The Journey Toward Conscious Capitalism.”

This book, which has just been launched by Tec de Monterrey’s Conscious Enterprise Center, compiles examples of companies and their practices under this philosophy, in which everyone involved matters and wins over the long term.

“Our goal was to create an inspirational text that familiarizes people with this topic, thus guiding society toward a conscious and sustainable future,” explained María de la Paz Toldos, one of the book’s coordinators, at its launch.

Exclusively from CONECTA, you can download the chapter that introduces the cases of Mexican companies such as Frisa, Kidzania, Mundo Cuervo, Grupo Bimbo, and Cinépolis.

The book was published by the Tirant publishing house and 34 Tec professors worked on it as co-authors of the chapters.

During the launch, which was held on February 27 in the Main Hall of the Rector’s Building on Monterrey campus, it was highlighted that the aim of this project is to offer practical guidelines for the way forward in Mexico and Latin America.

The commitment of Conscious Capitalism

Raj Sisodia, FEMSA Distinguished Professor of Conscious Enterprise and President of the Conscious Enterprise Center, explained the reason behind the rise of this new business philosophy.

“There was this idea that if you wanted to earn more money, then you had to pay employees and suppliers less and charge customers more.

“That idea meant communities and society have to absorb a large part of the cause and the planet is harmed, in addition to other consequences. As far as I’m concerned, that’s not a business,” he shared at the book launch.

He added that unlearning this philosophy is not an easy job, but it is possible to change the course of a company in a short period of time.

“The business then begins to operate in a much healthier and more powerful way, but it takes some time. It doesn’t take 10 years, it takes a year to 18 months before you begin to see the results,” he stressed.

He also explained that the role of the leader is fundamental in the transition, which must be focused on people’s wellbeing.

Kidzania and the search to provide value to employees

As part of the panel at the book launch for “Mexican Companies: The Journey Toward Conscious Capitalism,” Xavier López Ancona, president and founder of Kidzania, shared his journey.

“Ever since we launched Kidzania, we wanted a business that would make money, but be social at the same time.

“At first, we were doing it on our own, but I heard about and fell in love with the concept in 2010. When I found out that they’d brought it to Mexico, we wanted to get involved in this movement,” shared the businessman.

He explained that the staff or workforce are what matter most at his company, because when they’re happy, they’ll give better service.

“Our staff are the ones guiding the children. Our most important variable is not sales or profitability, but them,” he explained.

Support for migrants, one of FEMSA’s actions

For her part, FEMSA Foundation President Lorena Guillé-Laris spoke about the work carried out at the company through the OXXO chain in supporting migrants in Mexico.

“Businesses are made by people. You have to raise awareness in order to go far. The pandemic made it clear to us that we must implement plans on migration issues.

“At OXXO, we’ve hired migrants and we carry out a cultural assimilation process. Training is conducted with more humane support so that cultural barriers are not a limitation,” she said.

Similarly, she pointed out that FEMSA is committed to creating companies that generate social value.

“Our goal was to create an inspirational text that familiarizes people with this topic, thus guiding society toward a conscious and sustainable future.” - María de la Paz Toldos

Conscious Capitalism and Tec de Monterrey

Tec de Monterrey’s Rector for Higher Education, Juan Pablo Murra, was also present at the book launch, where he spoke about the Tec’s endeavors since its inception with what is now known as Conscious Capitalism.

“It’s been a very interesting process: our founding by Don Eugenio Garza Sada was a reflection of ideas and practices that are now known as Conscious Capitalism, which at the time was social capitalism. That seed was always here at Tec de Monterrey,” Murra highlighted.

He explained that the Conscious Enterprise Center was inaugurated at the Tec in September 2021, in order to influence business transformation and the search to train conscious leaders.

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