SENTINEL WATCH June 5, 2006 Issue

CHANGING CONCEPTS OF BUSINESS

ROBERT HOLCOMB

IN HIS BESTSELLING BOOK The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century, Thomas Friedman gives a wonderful analysis of what is going on in this new era of globalization. He explores outsourcing, supply chains, fiber optics, Netscape, Google, and so on. He presents a fascinating picture of change and how we can take advantage of the progress in human thought that these advances indicate.

A recent trip to China helped me see developments of this kind more clearly. An egalitarian spirit is taking hold. The old hierarchical order is giving way to an awareness of individual potential and capacity. Many people in China now have their own little businesses on the side, and according to a China-US Joint Economic Statement last October, these activities now account for 90 percent of business enterprises in China. Initiative and hope are increasingly evident among the people. What was especially beautiful to me was to note the blending of these qualities with an unparalleled patience.

I also found it exciting to view such developments from the perspective of Christian Science. In her book Miscellaneous Writings 1883—1896, Mary Baker Eddy wrote, "God gives you His spiritual ideas, and in turn, they give you daily supplies" (p. 307). Over the years, I have found that the key to success in business or any other endeavor lies in learning to distinguish between the spiritual ideas of Mind (a name given in Christian Science to God) and human concepts, which are often misleading and opposed to God's will.