GNH of Business Conference and Certificate

This week, the 7. International Conference on Gross National Happiness took place in Thimphu, Bhutan. The gathering of about 350 people focused on applying GNH in the business sector. Honourable Prime Minister of Bhutan and Dasho Karma Ura from the Centre for Bhutan Studies and GNH opened the event. On the first day, I presented a paper we had jointly submitted with Prof. Laszlo Zsolnai from the Corvinus University of Budapest about GNH rating for companies and Buddhist values in business.

I look forward to seeing GNH in Business in practice from 2018.

GNH Facilitator Training Program

Her Royal Highness Princess Kezang Choden Wangchuck launched the GNH Centre’s “GNH Facilitator Training Program” at Terma Linca resort in Thimphu.

GNH Centre’s executive director Dr Saamdu Chetri said the week-long training program, would bring together Bhutanese and international participants to envision how they might apply GNH related principles and lead similar programs in their own contexts.

I was fortunate to have been invited to attend the opening day of this interesting training program which helps spread the GNH values across the globe.

We need to redefine prosperity

"Spending money we don't have
on things we don't need
to create impressions that won't last
on people we don't care about."
Tim Jackson, British ecological economist, describing our current economic model


Today, I watched again this great talk of Tim Jackson and thought it should be posted it here given how much it resonates with what Bhutan's enlightened leaders and citizens think themselves. 

Of course, even with all lessons learned and good intention, Bhutan alone is not going to change the world's current economic system. I dare to say that Bhutan will not be able to create a lasting alternative economic and social system based on Gross National Happiness even within its own borders unless big brothers follow similar path and it becomes mainstream. If China, India, USA, Europe, Russia, Brazil, etc. don't listen and follow, Bhutan will be betrayed and left alone in its struggle between tradition and modernity, egoism and solidarity, countryside and the city, trees and concrete buildings. 

When I'm writing this post, in Thimphu a group of international experts are discussing what they call a New Development Paradigm to be presented to the United Nations. Basically, they are exploring how to define happiness and well-being so that the countries' national accounts and measurement systems can be adjusted to consider what really matters to people and the planet - beyond GDP.

The task is big and urgent. I remember the long silence at the event of our Bhutan Society in Hungary after the documentary film '86 centimetres' was showcased. In this movie, we could see the incredible struggle of ordinary Bhutanese to prevent glacial lake outburst floods which happen in Bhutan due to climate change caused by other nations. 

However, Bhutan is not alone with the task. Bhutan has friends all around the world who share the same values about prosperity. We don't give up. We keep going. 

'Buddhist inspired values in business' workshop

On 24-25 Nov, I spent the weekend in Brussels with 40 wonderful, like-minded people of varied background - academics, business managers, entrepreneurs, nuns, nonprofit leaders, management consultants, public servants and students - exploring the application of Buddhist values in business management. I had the great privilege to coordinate the event and share a few thoughts about my ongoing journey of discovering Buddhism, Buddhist economics, GNH and Bhutan.

More importantly, I learned a lot from our panel of excellent speakers such as Prof. Laszlo Zsolnai, Joel Magnuson, Bart Weetjens, Keturaja, and Dr Karma Phuntsho. Via video interview, Dasho Karma Ura was also sharing his inspiring thoughts about Gross National Happiness, Buddhism and Business.

Active participation, thoughtfulness and open-mindedness of the audience made the workshop a fruitful and enjoyable event to be continued in the future.

More: www.bububrussels.blogspot.com

To visually support my talk, I borrowed and changed a bit the title page of
Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse's popular book 'What makes you (not) a Buddhist?'

GNH, American Dream and Real Life -- Part 1-2

This is my original article as submitted to The Bhutanese, a national newspaper. It was published in two separate parts as part of a debate on theory and practice of Gross National Happiness.


GNH, American Dream and Real Life


Please forgive me: I'm a Hungarian chilip who doesn't permanently live in Bhutan and I'm not a GNH expert. However, I dare to offer some additional thoughts to the healthy discussion provoked by Dr David L Luechauer in Kuensel and The Bhutanese hoping to contribute to Bhutan's future development.

Some of you may think I'm trying to defend GNH and Bhutan against critics. This is not the case, because GNH or Bhutan doesn't need my defense and protection. Personally, I can't see any problem with Dr David criticizing GHN practice without knowing the concept well while relying on his personal and limited experiences. I keep hearing from my Bhutanese friends that he probably did a good service to Bhutan when raising some valid points. He may even be right saying that widespread domestic practice should have predated any extensive international promotion. I can't really judge. 

What I know for sure though is that GNH provides inspiration to many people outside Bhutan, including my friends in Europe, who explore alternative ways of organizing our societies. I say 'inspiration' which doesn't mean that we would like to take GNH into our countries as it is. No, we want to study the concept, see the results and challenges in Bhutan, and then figure out what we can learn from it and how we can apply the learnings. Doing so, we also hope to help Bhutan improve and apply GNH. 

In my article, I hope to add new dimensions to the conversation by focusing on three things: 1) the universal gap between theory and practice; 2) proposed solutions to Bhutan and their viability; and 3) the business sector's role in further developing Bhutan. 


The theory vs. practice gap

I don't know Dr David, but he may have fallen into the trap several chilips did before: prior to his arrival, in his mind, he may have constructed his own Shangri-la or Happiness State with ever-smiling citizens governed by an enlightened policy called GNH. Then, he got disappointed when he found a real country with real people struggling with real everyday problems. And then he concluded that his home country is still much better.

When I was 18 years old I fell into the same trap, but my constructed Shangri-la was the United States. I was living in Hungary in Eastern Europe under a 'light communist' regime and for my birthday I received a BigMac from one of my best friends. He queued for hours in front of the first newly opened McDonald's in the country and I still remember the thrill I had just looking at this small piece of food on the dinner table. It was a precious sacred object, much more than a sandwich. For me, it was the American Dream itself.

This happened in 1988 and two years later we had democratic elections and open market and later I got my dream job at Levi's, the American jeans company. Today, I laugh when I recall the BigMac story. Since then, I've grown up and learned to see the difference between the American Dream and a hamburger. In other words, I know the difference between marketing and reality. I know that the American Dream, which is globally marketed by brand builders, politicians, Hollywood and many US citizens, is not fully practiced in its home country neither. I've been there and I've seen it. It's a political slogan or a well-promoted philosophy, if you wish. Just like Free Market Economy which doesn't exist nowhere due to government's intervention, protection and subsidies, big business monopolies, and human nature. 

And this discrepancy between a well-rounded concept and rugged reality naturally applies to GNH, too. And that's fine. I'm afraid that we, adults, have to accept that GNH and the American Dream are both aspirational concepts of great minds which are marketed by talented political leaders at home and abroad, while imperfectly implemented anywhere. 

Considering this, one may ask how come that US politicians and Dr David are promoting the concept of American Dream or Free Market Economy or Equality or Democracy across the globe if they are not fully practiced at home? How about gun violence, crime, unemployment, homelessness, obesity, environmental degradation, stress, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, debt, high military spending, increasingly limited social mobility, money-driven politics, anti-market government subsidies, stagnating middle-class income, and growing gap between super-rich and the rest of the US?  The US is no longer what it used to be. Shouldn't they just get their own house in order first before trying to sell their concepts to the world? 

You might be surprised, but I think they shouldn't. I think Americans and Europeans - including Dr David - have the right to promote whatever values, concepts, ideas and philosophies they think are right - regardless of their implementation. It can be the American Dream, Free Market Economy, Democracy, The Invisible Hand, Individualism, GNP, Well-being, Christianity, Human Rights, Peace&Love, Tree Hugging, Philanthropy or Superman. Whatever. These constructions of the mind are all imperfect when practiced, but still it's worth globally debating their viability and implementation.  

On the other hand, all men and women are born equal, not only Americans or Europeans. If Dr David has the right to promote his values and criticize those of others - and I strongly believe he has - others have the same right, too. We all have the right to explore alternatives or adjustments to the American Dream, McKinsey, IMF, Hollywood, or Wall Street without immediately being labelled as communist, Marxist, fundamentalist environmentalist, anti-capitalist, or anti-Superman. 

And I believe that GNH as a concept is potentially one of many viable alternatives to our current global socio-economic system in crisis. Again: it's worth discussing it as a concept globally among many others. Even in more developed countries. Regardless of its implementation in Bhutan.

But, as Dr David rightly suggested, we shouldn't get stuck in discussing philosophy too much, but let's pull up our sleeves and get to work.


On Dr David's proposed solutions to Bhutan

Going beyond his personal insights about GNH implementation and Bhutan's economic and social challenges such as alcoholism, I reviewed what Dr David was actually proposing to Bhutanese and I had a hard time to find his solutions either original or applicable or fair. Some seem to make perfect sense like hard work or better public toilets or curbing alcoholism. Others are less convincing. Given our limited time, I just want to comment on some of his controversial proposals:

1. His proposal: Bhutanese should get to hard work to build the economy and infrastructure.

I think Bhutanese farmers work hard enough to be appreciated. I think Bhutanese craftsmen work hard enough to be appreciated. I think Bhutanese doctors, forest engineers, teachers, shoe cleaners, tourist guides, taxi drivers, etc all work hard enough to be appreciated. Constructing roads, buildings, and hydropower stations in Bhutan is mostly done by Indian companies with Indian workers. They have the technology and willing manpower Bhutan lacks, so they are contracted to build. I don't see it as a problem, if properly managed. 

Building an economy takes not only hard work, but time, money, natural resources and favorable trading opportunities. And protection against cheap and/or better foreign products until the domestic industry is strong enough to compete. This complex process requires much more than the 'Just do it' attitude.

2. His proposal: be self-sufficient and produce internal products for internal market.

It's true that there are not many high quality goods made in Bhutan, but it's also true for Europe and the US where most products, including iPhones, are made in China, Mexico, or other countries. Not a single developed country Dr David has listed is self-sufficient in producing goods for their citizens. They all outsource and heavily rely on other countries' resources and labor such as Middle East oil or cheap Chinese workers.

Bhutan was basically self-sufficient when it was an isolated agrarian country. With globalization and uncontrolled urbanization, higher expectations of urban populations have to be met through importing goods. The real question for me is whether Bhutan will be able to generate sufficient income through tourism, foreign grants, and sales of electricity and locally made goods to continue buying foreign products and services, and occasionally reduce its current debt. If not, individual consumption and government spending have to be reduced to a lower level and politicians and citizens should accept that. 

3. His proposal: be driven by Dow Jones and Nikkei, in other words by the stock exchange.

I'm not sure what this means. Can Dr David imagine, for instance, an effective rehabilitation system for alcohol addicts that is driven by the stock exchange index, instead of solidarity, empathy, human caring, family support and love? Companies may be driven by numbers, but not entire societies.

4. His proposal: don't rely on foreign aid.

I agree. It's good to be independent from foreign money in the long run. On the other hand, foreign aid is not necessarily bad and can be used wisely at early development stage. After World War II, Western Europe was basically rebuilt on foreign support: the Marshall Plan of the United States. The same aid was proposed to the Soviet Union which rejected it for political reasons. Well, one can decide today who made a better decision. 


5. His proposal: get back to monarchy so the King has full power to follow Jack Welsh's example who restructured General Electric.

I think it's a bit irresponsible to propose 30 year-old business management techniques to a country's leadership. What Bhutan needs is 21st century solutions tailored to its unique geopolitical situation and culture. A country is not a company.


6. His proposal: look at the US, Denmark, Germany, etc.

Discussing solutions, Dr David compares small Bhutan with the US, Singapore, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden in his article of Kuensel (11 Aug 2012). On one hand, I agree: Bhutan can learn from more developed countries in terms of education system, health care, skilled labor, English language skills, craftsmanship, or entrepreneurial spirit.
However, this comparison has its limitations. Sweden has always been a trading country and it assisted both waring parties during Second World War which helped create a strong industry. Singapore is perfectly situated to be a trading hub which generates wealth. We can clearly see further limitations when we compare populations, geopolitical status, the huge amount of resources these highly industrialized countries use, the garbage and pollution they produce, and the money some of them spend on military projects or government subsidizes in order to protect their national interests and serve their citizens' needs. 

Just on agriculture subsidies: since 1995, $277 billion have been paid in government subsidizes to farmers in the US (http://farm.ewg.org). In 2011, direct aid to farmers and market-related expenditure amounted to 30% of the total European Commission's budget. (http://ec.europa.eu/budget). This high percentage translated into over $55 billion in one single year coming from tax-payers (including me) to private companies. Recipients of 6-figure agriculture subsidizes in 2012 also included the Queen of England (BBC news). 

I wonder what is the learning in this for Bhutan? Should it use 30% of its public budget to subsidize farmers? Or the learning is actually to avoid such policies? It's not clear in Dr David's recommendation.

Again, no doubt, Bhutan can learn from these so called 'GNP' countries keeping in mind that they have developed their strong economy over centuries of wars, colonisation, slavery, migration and immigration, revolutions, industrial revolution, international trading, outsourcing, social unrests, fiscal paradises, and environmental degradation. In many ways, Bhutan can also learn from other emerging market countries or from smaller countries like Hungary which have gone through major political and economic transition similar to the one in Bhutan.


The business sector's role in developing Bhutan

I think Dr David and I would agree on high importance of the business community in a country's development. Recognizing this importance, GNP is part of GNH which places the business community, with targeted government support, in key position to creating suitable solutions for Bhutan. 

Working with small and medium-sized enterprises at the Thimphu TechPark and Loden Foundation, I observe that local businesses - apart from the need to be more entrepreneurial and professional in their management - need to be more socially and environmentally responsible in their operation. The goodwill is most of the time given, but new entrepreneurs need to find their way of balancing profitability and responsibility. Government incentives, visible good examples from larger businesses, educated consumers, and tailored training programs would help them a lot.  

As a coach, I work with Shoe-Vival/Help-Shoe Bhutan. Started about 2 years ago, this small enterprise has demonstrated that it's possible to provide high quality service in a socially and environmentally responsible way. If they can do it, everyone can at least try. I hope to see a more engaged business community in Bhutan.

As a global citizen who genuinely cares about Bhutan, I aim to make a difference by offering assistance in finding 21st century business management solutions that consider social and environmental impact and suit a small nation like Bhutan. If Bhutan could adapt the latest telecommunications technologies, why not to tap into the latest management techniques and economic models based on stakeholder engagement, sustainable agriculture and tourism, social entrepreneurship, collaboration, ethical business conduct, values-based leadership, frugality, simplicity, locality, corporate responsibility, small and medium sized company development, Buddhist economics, behavioral economics, impact investment, ethical banking, etc. 

Today, I don't think that opening a bottle of Coca-Cola would make me happy and I think twice before buying BigMac, because I know that my purchase could increase the risk of floods in Bhutan endangering the beautiful Punakha Dzhong and modest houses of my Bhutanese friends. That's what I would call globalized solidarity and awareness of interconnectedness. 

Mahatma Gandhi said: "Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony". Creating this happiness is challenging, but such public debates may help move towards such harmony in Bhutan, Hungary, the US and all over the world - before it's too late.

Thimphu, 28th Sep 2012


Zoltan Valcsicsak used to work for Levi Strauss & Co, the Californian jeans company and he's currently independent Corporate Responsibility Advisor in Europe and volunteer business coach in Bhutan. He's also founding president of the Hungarian Bhutan Friendship Society.




 You can read the article on line in two parts in The Bhutanese:

http://www.thebhutanese.bt/gnh-american-dream-and-real-life-part-1/

http://www.thebhutanese.bt/gnh-american-dream-and-real-life-part-2/

Gross National Happiness explained for beginners

Bhutan spreads happiness to the United Nations

Graffiti in Thimphu

Recently, Bhutan has put the politics of happiness on the UN's agenda with the support of 66 countries such as the UK. The UN General Assembly has adopted a non-binding resolution that aims to make happiness a "development indicator". Bhutan's ambassador Lhatu Wangchuk said the next step was to help UN members better understand the concept. He also said that UN diplomats should sleep more and spend more time with their families to be happier. Read the article HERE.


In Bhutan Gross National Happiness (GNH) is a national development framework with key progress indicators different to those related of Gross National Product (GNP). Based on Buddhist values, the GNH indicators include nine dimensions:


1. Psychological Well-being
2. Time Use
3. Community Vitality
4. Culture
5. Health
6. Education
7. Environmental Diversity
8. Living Standard
9. Governance


On paper, this is an excellent approach to development that aims to overcome the weaknesses of our global material-centered, or 'stuff-based', economic and social system. However, as I saw it in Bhutan, practicing GNH is not without challenges. Rapidly changing Bhutanese society is currently facing new issues such as stress, diabetes, crime, drug abuse, consumerism and pollution, just to mention a few. The BIG QUESTION for me is how GNH, political leadership, and lessons from abroad will help society cope with these issues. 


I believe simply copying what others have done in the past would not help and Bhutan needs to come up with new solutions that work at least for this small country, if not for all of us.  I think Bhutan needs a quick, small, but inevitable dose of globalization and consumerism now in order to develop longterm resistance to them for the future and then re-create its own culture, value system and happiness. 

Buddhist Economics. What is it and why now?

I aim to make this blog a platform for different ideas and views. One way of doing this is to invite different people to share their thoughts and hopefully generate healthy discussions about subjects of mutual interest.

My first guest is Laszlo Zsolnai from Hungary with whom I have already spent several pleasant evenings in Brussels tasting some Belgian beer and discussing alternative approaches to our current economic system. Laszlo Zsolnai is Professor and Director of Business Ethics Center, Corvinus University of Budapest and Co-founder of the Buddhist Economics Research Platform. I was asking him about Buddhist Economics wishing to follow the interview with a more detailed discussion about Gross National Happiness in theory and practise.

When did you get introduced to Buddhist Economics?

I studied economics in the late 1970s. I was not ready to accept the basic dogma of modern Western economics that self-interest behaviour serves the common good. I always felt that something is wrong with the “greed is good” position. Reading E.F. Schumacher’s essay on Buddhist economics was liberating for me. It demonstrated that an alternative economic worldview is possible where the main function of economic activities is not to maximize material growth but to create sustainable livelihood for people and communities.      

What does Buddhist Economics mean?

Buddhist economics can be seen as a radical alternative to the Western economic mindset. Western economics represents a maximizing framework. It wants to maximize profit, desires, market, instrumental use, and self-interest and tends to build a world where “bigger is better” and “more is more”. Buddhist economics represents a minimizing framework where suffering, desires, violence, instrumental use, and self-interest have to be minimized. This is why “small is beautiful” and “less is more” nicely express the essence of the Buddhist approach to economic questions.

Is it a Western concept or was it originated in Buddhist countries?

I think Buddhist economics is a universal concept. It might be relevant for Buddhist and non-Buddhist countries as well. By reducing desires it can serve as a vehicle for reducing the society’s material metabolism and consequently its ecological footprint. I agree with the Thai Buddhist monk and philosopher, P.A. Payutto that one should not be a Buddhist or an economist to be interested in Buddhist economics. Buddhist ethical principles and their applications in economic life offer a way of being and acting, which can help people to live a more ecological and happier life while contributing to the reduction of human and non-human suffering in the world.  

Is there any country in the world that, at least partly, follows the concept of Buddhist Economics?

Bhutan can be mentioned as an example where Buddhist economics is influencing economic policy. Another example is the Sarvodaya movement in Sri Lanka where thousands of people and hundreds of villages cooperate to develop a “Right livelihood”. In Thailand the Santi Asoke movement are experimenting with self-reliant economic models. Japan’s extremely successful eco-efficiency technologies are influenced by the Buddhist ethics of “not wasting”.      

What has to change in Europe to follow Buddhist Economics principles?

The self-centered way of life, the “greed culture” of Europe and North-America should be changed. The economic crisis of 2008-2010 produced financial losses of billions of USD in the form of poisoned debts, the decline of stock prices and the value depreciation of properties. The prospect of future economic growth supposed to be the guarantor of the indebtedness of households, companies and economies. Today we experience a considerable downscaling of our economies.

The global warming survival guide created by the American weekly magazine, Time,  suggest the following: "There is an older path to reducing our impact on the planet that will feel familiar to Evangelical Christians and Buddhists alike. Live simply. Meditate. Consume less. Think more. Get to know your neighbors. Borrow when you need to and lend when asked. E.F. Schumacher praised that philosophy this way in Small Is Beautiful: Amazingly small means leading to extraordinarily satisfying results." 

What is the link between Buddhist Economics and Gross National Happiness?

The Gross National Happiness (GNH) is a policy framework to realize the main principles of Buddhist economics. GNH can be regarded as the next stage in the evolution of indicators for sustainable development, going beyond merely measuring values that can be expressed in money.

Bhutan’s leaders define GNH in terms of four pillars: economic development, good governance, cultural preservation and nature conservation. The benefit of this model is that it includes both GDP - the ‘lowest’ level bottom line - while complementing it with ‘higher level’ components. Political decisions are made on the basis of trade-offs. For example, when faced with the choice between providing employment versus the preservation of environment, most governments would choose the former. The GNH model shows that this trade-offs should be made in the context of a hierarchy of values. Otherwise policymakers will sacrifice higher level values for lower level ones. 

How do you feel about the UK and French governments considering measuring well-being and happiness of their citizens?

Trying to measure well-being and happiness - instead of simply measuring economic growth - is a good step forward. The Stiglitz & Sen & Fitoussi Report presents an advanced view on sustainability and social well-being. We should not be interested in the well-being or happiness of people only but also in the sustainability of their living. Well-being at the expense of nature and future generations cannot be accepted. At present most of the Western countries exceed their right “earth share” by 250-600 %.  

Is it something you would suggest to the Hungarian government?
 Perhaps the most urgent task for the Hungarian government (and also for other Western governments) is to reduce the extremely high level of indebtedness of the country. The high level of debts presents enormous pressure on people and communities and would force government to follow irresponsible economic growth paths. Another important task is not to engage in nature-destroying technologies such as GMO (genetically modified organism) production and nuclear energy generation.      

What are the available resources about Buddhist Economics?

We developed the Buddhist Economics Research Platform which collects the most important contributions in Buddhist Economics. I am editing a new book on Buddhist economics for Springer which will be published in 2011. 

(February 2011)

How did I get to Bhutan?

Readers of this blog rightly asked how I had got to Bhutan. Here is my story:

I was working for the Levi Strauss Foundation when I came across with the London-based 'think and do tank' the New Economics Foundation. nef explores new ways of organizing our economic system as if people and the planet mattered. In 2006, nef published the first Happy Planet Index that was basically a list of countries in the world ranked according to happiness or unhappiness of their citizens. More precisely, the index combines environmental impact with human well-being to measure the environmental efficiency with which, country by country, people live long and happy lives. Bhutan, by the way, ranked 13. in the first and 17. in the second index published.

Through discussions with nef staff about the report and their work, I discovered Bhutan as the only country on earth where the government declared that GNH or Gross National Happiness was more important than GNP and GDP or Gross National / Domestic Product. That was very exciting and I tried to learn more about this approach to development.

In 2010, I was in London to attend a board meeting of the Resource Alliance that builds fundraising capacity of nonprofits across the globe. At the dinner that was organized for board and staff members, I got introduced to Dawa Dem, a new staff member who happened to be the first Bhutanese I had met. I got excited about the opportunity to discuss GNH with someone who actually lived in  the country. As I learned Dawa and her husband, Dr Karma Phuntsho, were associated with Bhutan's first registered charity, the Loden Foundation.

Meanwhile, I decided to leave the Levi Strauss Foundation after 12 great years and pursue new opportunities which meant that I suddenly had more time for volunteering. Given my interest in Bhutan and my acquittance with Dawa Dem, it made sense to explore if I could support Loden as a volunteer. The answer was positive and I got invited.

Voilà, that is the way I have got here to spend 9 weeks working with the leadership of Loden  and its network of young entrepreneurs as well as study GNH in practice, in other words: the everyday life in Bhutan. 

My project was made possible thanks to help and support of several people such as staff at nef; Prof. Laszlo Zsolnai promoting Buddhist economics; Dawa Dem, Dr. Karma Phuntsho, Gerard Tardy, Anne Tardy, and Dorji Tashi from Loden; the Bhutan government that issued my visa; and last, but not least my wife, Heni, and the rest of my family who have been supporting me in this adventure. I hope to give them back at least as much as they gave me.