By Regan Donoghue, Senior Principal at Unispace
Nearly 200 years after Charles Dickens’ novel ‘A Christmas Carol’ was first published in 1843, the lessons of this now iconic tale have remained consistently relevant. From stage plays to radio shows, movie renditions and modern retellings – most recently the very charming AppleTV+ musical ‘Spirited,’ – the story of Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation from a soulless businessman to an empathetic and engaged member of his community continues to resonate deeply with each passing generation.
While the modern workplace may look a lot different than Scrooge’s decrepit Cornhill warehouse, the wisdom ‘A Christmas Carol’ bestows on its main character, who Dickens so eloquently describes as “a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner,” must still be considered by today’s business leaders. Through a little bit of holiday magic, Scroogeis forced to recognize the importance of learning from past mistakes, being empathetic in the present and making the right choices to create positive change in the future. Looking at today’s corporate landscape, we’re seeing more than a few Scrooge-like CEOs out there ruling their companies through fear, chaos, and extreme pettiness.So, what could the ghosts of our past, present and future teach this current class of business leaders? I have a few ideas.
The Ghosts of Business Past
If we don’t learn from our history, we are bound to repeat it. In the first of his three late night hauntings, Scrooge is visited by the ghosts of his past, and learns that his history of choosing financial success over friendships, family and romance has led him to be miserable and alone. Not only did these choices negatively impact his own life, but as a powerful leader, they have also impacted the lives of Scrooge’s overworked and underpaid employees, as well as their families. Indeed, Scrooge discovers that his past selfish decisions have had a ripple effect on his entire community.
In his recent book ‘Leadership,’ Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry Kissinger explores this concept by examining the legacies of notable political leaders – both good and bad. From the positive contributions of politicians such as Charles DeGaulle and Margaret Thatcher to the societal collapse and genocide caused by Adolf Hitler, Kissinger notes that leaders who learn from history tend to leave their people in a better place than those who refuse to reckon with the lessons of the past.
Like so many leaders before and after his time, Scrooge struggled to place value on anything in his life beyond financial prosperity. But as Kissinger says, “A historically informed strategic leader seeks actionable insight from inherent ambiguity.” For Kissinger, the mark of a true strategic leader is the ability to make critical decisions without having a wealth of information to sort through, and this ability can only develop through a deep understanding of the past. This is also a skill taught in therapy – the patient is taken through their past traumas and mistakes, and the therapist uses those experiences to inform their lives going forward.
When asked by a student how to best prepare for the perils of leadership, Winston Churchill replied, “Study history. Study history. In history lies all of the secrets of statecraft.” As the Ghost of Christmas Past takes Scrooge back through the pain of losing the love of his life in service of becoming rich, he is provided with a new level of self-awareness about what those past decisions have meant for his current reality. Modern leaders should heed Churchill’sadvice and look to the outcomes of their past choices as a guide for how to approach decisions in the present.
The Ghosts of Business Present
While mindfulness as a practice has been around for centuries, it has only recently gained popularity in the cultural zeitgeist. Scrooge is taught the importance of mindfulness by the Ghost of Christmas Present, who shows him the miserable reality his past choices have created for one of his underpaid and struggling employees. This bleak picture hits a bit too close to home in our current corporate environment, as, like Scrooge before them, many in executive leadership view their employees as mere tools for productivity and profit, willfully ignoring their human need for empathy, community and rest.
While there are many loyal employees in our workforce who have been beaten into accepting their lot in life, younger generations are not as willing to submit to mistreatment. As we have seen from the Great Resignation and the new trend of “quiet quitting,” many employees have hit a new level of burnout that is causing them to reevaluate their career paths.
Leaders who are looking to refresh and revitalize their workforce must take a hard look at their current business practices. When visited by the ghosts of their present business, current leaders must ask themselves – how are they measuring success? Through profit alone, or through the well-being of their workforce? Is their leadership fear-based, or inspirational? Have they set clear expectations that align with their company values and the needs of their employees?
As a society we are at a unique inflection point – corporate leaders can either choose to continue plodding the same path as before, or evolve to create a happier, healthier and ultimately more productive way of working. If we listen to the ghosts of our present, the path into the future should be clear.
The Ghosts of Business Future
For his final lesson, Scrooge is taken into a bleak and depressing future, in which he is forced to reckon with the devastation of what is yet to come. Like even the most problematic of today’s leaders, Scrooge never wanted to be an agent of ruin – he simply didn’t realize the negative impact his decisions would ultimately have upon the world.
With an eye toward the future, current business leaders would do well to consider the ripple effect their actions may have on the future of humanity, and they don’t have to do this alone. Their employees hold a wealth of ideas for improving the workplace, changing the grind mindset and preventing the worst-case scenarios from ever coming to pass, and they should listen and learn from them the best way to move forward.
One area that needs to be addressed is the impact of technology, how it controls our existence and how it canimpact the ways we interact as a society. If we let the digital world dominate our future, we could manifest an even scarier version of ‘Minority Report.’ As AI advances and provides new ways to manage a myriad of white-collar roles, leaders in critical decision-making positions must consider the implications of automation in their scenario planning – beyond its potential impact on profit.
There is a reason humanity emerged from history as the dominant species despite never having been the strongest or fastest occupants of this Earth. We used our social learning and self-awareness to educate ourselves and grow together. If we remain isolated without a clear vision, or stay married to an increasingly irrelevant status quo, the next evolution might leave us behind.
At the end of ‘A Christmas Carol,’ Scrooge is a changed man. Running out of his mansion in his slippers and pajamas, he vows to fix all the problems his past choices have created in the present, and forge a new, better future for his community and his family. These age-old lessons remain deeply relevant in our modern world, and they are truths that many high-profile business leaders could stand to consider. The question is, do our present-day corporate bigwigs have the self-awareness needed to respect their past, live in their present and prepare for a better future? We’re looking at you, Elon.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Regan Donoghue is a Senior Principal at Unispace, a global strategy, design and construction firm.A seasoned strategist with more than 15 years of experience, Regan helps clients challenged by complexities that arise in the world of workforce and workplace strategy. She takes on more turbulent paths, and specializes in guiding clients through scenario planning, designing change plans, and developing predictions on the future of workplace. As a WELL & LEED Accredited Professional, she helps guide the best solutions that support employee mental, physical and emotional well-being at work.
