[Upbeat theme music plays]
Female Voice Over (00:01):
Welcome to the Triple Bottom Line, where we reveal how today’s business leaders are reaching a new level of success with a people-planet-profit approach. And here is your host, Taylor Martin!
Taylor Martin (00:17):
Welcome to the Triple Bottom Line, everybody. I am very excited today because conscious capitalism has been something that's been more and more in the news, and I'm happy to see that. We've had a previous guest that was someone who followed conscious capitalism. Today, we actually have the Chief Strategy Officer for Conscious Capitalism DC, and he is so much more than that. I'm going to let him talk to it, but I kind of see him as a conscious capitalistic technology evangelist savant. He's kind of all that and more. But before I do, Arnaud Saint-Paul is our guest. Arnaud, can you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and how you got to be doing all the different things that you're doing right now?
Arnaud Saint-Paul (01:01):
Thank you so much and thank you for having me. First and foremost, I'm a CSO at Conscious Capitalism DC. I'm only focusing on one area in the US. I guess my background is finance, technology, and spirituality. I've been doing a lot of finances throughout my years and focusing on creating startups in Europe and the US that would serve business to business or B to C type of markets and seeing how we could help to grow different areas of the market in telecom, in optics, in logistics, just to name a few.
About 10 years ago, I decided to dedicate my life to help 1 billion people to connect to their heart and lead through their heart, and that's what has been motivating now my efforts, not only through Conscious Capitalism but also through other ventures we will talk about later. Why Conscious Capitalism? I believe that our capitalism, the way we have been able to live through it in the past centuries, needs to evolve and take into account the new paradigm mind, which we are, where our society has to become responsible for what it is doing, not just to the planet but to itself, to society in general to our community. We need to take responsibility. We need to think not just short-term, not just connected with the survival or the short-term aspect of what we're doing, not looking at having greed within our life, but more taking into account the different aspects of what we're doing. Conscious Capitalism is about taking different stakeholders. We have not just the shareholder, which is the old paradigm, but also the employees, the clients, the providers. They are all part of the company's ecosystem, and they should all be taken into account and also, obviously, the society or the community within which the company evolves. In other words, that's how the different movement around impact financing, also the B Corps, and more recently the public benefit corporations that have been arising in the past 10 years, I'd say.
Taylor Martin (03:57):
Yep.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (03:57):
That are paramount for doing business nowadays. In other words, I strongly believe that every single company in the world should really, when they establish the boundaries of their business, they should have an impact they are looking to have, not just from a financial standpoint meaning incrementing the bank accounts of their company, but also how they give back to their community so that we are able to create some kind of a circular economy instead of a linear one that is only about me, me, me and how I can accumulate more money.
That’s a bit the journey on which we are at Conscious Capitalism and myself included through the different ventures that I'm working on. I was attracted by Conscious Capitalism because it resonates a lot with the method that I've put together called the Heartful Method, which helps leaders to lead through their heart. It's a three-month method that helps people to really make a quantum leap to let go of the mind way of doing things to go to the heart, which the heart is more holistic. It encompasses every single aspect of oneself and not just one little aspect of it. That method, and when we started to apply through it one of my companies called HEALTHRUWORDS® is helping people to really shift their mindset towards a more encompassing one as I mentioned, where we take into account, again, the different stakeholders within a company or within a business. That's what really we are here to do is help leaders, CEOs of companies, to shift their mindset towards a more natural growth and not a forced one as when we are following the mind way of doing things, which is all about hustle and struggle and short-sightedness related to how we're dealing with business.
Out of that framework, not only have we've been able to help hundreds of leaders, and one of them is the CEO of Finverity that I'm advising now, and we're really looking into, in this case it's trade finance, so we apply to trade finance the same framework. We look at how can we, not only obviously help the finance of the supply chain to make sure that there is a constant flow of money across the supply chain, but also how do we support the SMEs so that they can create more jobs. We can do that through using technology using finance and make sure that, again, not only the investors are taken care of but also the employees, the clients, the clients of the clients and the employees of the clients, and also the providers. We are really looking at very strongly at creating a cohesive and coherent ecosystem that is all about abundance and not looking at, again, that vision of survival and greed that we're accustomed to, unfortunately. So, that's one aspect.
Taylor Martin (07:32):
I was wanted to say, when you're having to deal with people and you're trying to incorporate the heart into it, what are some of the biggest hurdles you're kind of constantly finding when you're doing this process? For some people, it might just seem, "Oh, of course. That's how I do my business. I always lead with my heart, but I have my mind to focus and to put things into perspective." But some of the people that you're working with, what are some of those typical hurdles that you find when you're out there in the corporate world, trying to open their mind to allow them to see things in a different light?
Arnaud Saint-Paul (08:08):
That's a very good question. Obviously, this way of being and this way of conducting business is not for everyone at first, at least that's what it is believed. Everybody can do it because we all have a mind; we all have a heart. The only thing is as children we forget. We are a huge heart at first and then through school, we gradually forget what we are. And because parents and society and family, and so on repeats that to us and we cannot help it, and it's okay. So, we're kind of lost in a maze of beliefs that makes us, again, believe that it's the only way. I guess the main hurdle is people tend to want to repeat the same patterns and, therefore, they have to be at a specific junction in their lives, whether it's a business one or private one, usually it's both at the same time, where they are ready to make a shift, really making a jump, a quantum leap towards something new. So, not everyone is ready for that kind of jump. Meanwhile, we have designed different methods to help them gradually and very discreetly raise their vibration, in other words for them to be able to gradually open up to a potential shift down the road once they are ready. We have methods using positive words, for instance, that's the HEALTHRUWORDS® offer, and also retreats and so on and workshops. Again, this is an ongoing process, and some leaders are super ready and very happy to make the change. Some are a bit more resistant to it, but that's okay. It's part of the journey anyway, and we're here for them anytime to support them in general, wherever other challenges they are facing.
Taylor Martin (10:20):
It's more of a process that you had that you had to go through.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (10:23):
Yes. And the bottom line is the bottom, right? What we believe is that, and what we have been able to prove actually, is that when you start to shift and go into a journey where you lead through your heart, everything blossoms a lot faster and effortlessly on top of that. The numbers are showing the truth there. I've seen companies growing 30% every month for years because they were going through the Heartful Method. Obviously, this asks for a personal shift, which, again, not everybody is ready. That's also been why I've been developing these other ventures that we're going to talk about in a second because we want to show to the world that not only it is possible but actually, we can create ecosystems that are not only circular in terms of circular economy but also that are supporting everyone at the same time.
For instance, one example is a card game that we're developing now. It's a social enterprise, and its purpose is to create a card game that will foster more donations. How? So, you play with the cards. You are a superhero, and we present you with an Earth challenge, we call them. Once you are able to solve it, not only do you get a reward as a player, and in order to solve it you have to collaborate with others but, also at the same time, you trigger donations to the charities that are attached to the challenge. The funds are proceeding not only from the sales of the actual deck of cards but also more players may have given to the challenge and companies are invited to match these donations. We're creating a process where everybody can have fun, where it's super cheap to get access to it, and everybody can collect the cards and make money down the road as well. At the same time, we're actually making a positive impact on our local community or at a more global level.
We're really helping the whole ecosystem to grow by developing, in this case, positive tools that can help people to really live through their heart in this case and have fun. So, this is one example. That card game is developed within an ecosystem we call Give Nation, which is most likely my legacy where we're developing a gamified wallet for children from 5 to 18 years old. We're aiming to unite 2.5 billion children in that gamified wallet. It's purpose is to help children to become philanthropists and practice sustainable financial literacy. In other words, they can not only learn how to give to charity, learn about the sustainable development goals of the UN but, also at the same time, learn how to save money, to invest it, to earn it, to trade it, to do all the things we know as adults more or less. [Laughs] But giving them agency from a very young age to be able to help and support others in their local community. This is something that as kids we want to do, but we are not able to do it because we have to go through our parents, which is not the same thing. If we can create the right patterns at a very young age, they will continue doing the same as they grow up, saving more money, giving to more people. I believe that this will allow us to create a systemic change at the society level so that we can foster more and more heart-driven people through our community. I don't know what you think, but my thought is living in such a community or a society would be quite amazing, so that's why we're doing it. We're using companies and schools, companies with the card game and schools through Give Nation, to really help lift our society towards a more giving one or heart-driven one.
Taylor Martin (14:56):
That Give Nation and the wallet, are those two underneath the Give Nation projects? Are those both Give Nation projects?
Arnaud Saint-Paul (15:03):
Yes. All of it.
Taylor Martin (15:03):
So, the wallet one is for more younger kids to try to get them into a gifting or giving mindset, right?
Arnaud Saint-Paul (15:16):
Correct.
Taylor Martin (15:17):
And then the board game is more like teenagers to young adults and older, right?
Arnaud Saint-Paul (15:23):
And parents, yes. Correct.
Taylor Martin (15:25):
I was going to say, the card game is something that combines young adults, teenagers, and adults, as well as connecting them with companies.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (15:36):
Yes.
Taylor Martin (15:36):
That are allowing them to play a physical game that has ramifications in the real world by giving or gifting to areas of need that are in the game. You are solving problems with superheroes, but, in reality, you're actually making or giving money to these areas where we need to improve in our world, right?
Arnaud Saint-Paul (15:58):
Exactly. To give you another example: we're working with an energy provider in Europe, 160,000 employees, and they asked us to deploy the card game when it's ready- by the end of this year- to their employees so that the employees and their kids can play. They identified a specific challenge, in this case recycling, and identified a few charities they want to support, which is the one they are currently supporting within their CSR budget. What we do is we use the card game to show to their employees and their customers that the company cares. We will have tournaments where the players play, so physical tournaments in the offices and whatnot, with the organizers. Once they solve a challenge, they support a local charity where the tournament is happening. It's very local. It can be very global, too. Again, creating a movement of enthusiasm and positivity within the company in that case, to show that everybody is going in the same direction towards more care, more sustainability, more responsibility as well connected to our community. So, that's why we're developing that game, too.
Taylor Martin (17:33):
One of the things I really like about the game is that you're taking a real problem in our society in our world but using the characters of superheroes. It allows people to think beyond their normal construct and allows them to be playful like children again, even though they're adults. I think that's the secret sauce for me because it allows them to be free and not be inhibited by whatever. What they're doing is they're focusing on the problem, but they're focusing on it in a way that they have superheroes in mind and doing superhero things, and everybody can use their own creativity to do that. I'm all about creativity, so I think it's very interesting. I can't wait. Earlier when we were talking, did you say you're going to have a digital version of this later on next year?
Arnaud Saint-Paul (18:20):
Yes. Exactly. First quarter of next year, we should have a video game version that will enable any player around the world to play and be part of that. There will be the tournament's as well, obviously online in that case, and then there will be a marketplace down the road where you can trade what we call the NFT, so the non-fungible tokens. So, all these cards are not only physical but it can be also digital, and you can collect them. The reward cards will be a lot rarer than the decks, obviously. You can potentially, if you want, use these assets to collect them and trade them down the road, hence the marketplace.
Again, we find that an economy, of the game in this case, that takes care of every stakeholder the same way we will have badges where companies that are donating receive points that they can display. It's related to the sustainable development goals of the UN, and the charities will receive points as well because they show that they are doing their job, etc. So, showing that everybody's going in the same direction. I think the important aspect where we can use our communities for good by creating social recognition around what we are doing together and showing that we are all fighting for the good "cause," which is in this case improving our habitat or improving our social environment. It totally makes sense. It's totally short-term, too, in the sense that if I make sure that my neighbors and my local community from an environment standpoint is in good shape, it's better for me, right? That's the kind of reasoning and belief system we want to foster, using that game and Give Nation at large.
Taylor Martin (20:22):
I think that's really fascinating. I love everything you're talking about because I can reverse engineer how it's effective. I just find a 'yes' answer at all those different roads thinking this through. We talked about a lot so far, so I wanted to kind of go back to a few items that you talked about with Finverity, the funding that you're doing for SMEs. Can you explain a little bit more about that in terms of how that came about? I know you work with Finverity as an advisor, so you're helping them make sure they're moving forward in a conscious capitalist way.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (21:02):
Yeah. I'm helping the CEO. I'm not the founder by any long shot. The CEO wanted to work with me. He found the Heartful Method, and we had our three-month workshop together. He really loved it so much so that he invited me to become an advisor and that's what we're doing now. What we're focusing on is, again, making sure that the CEO's belief systems are not limiting him in his work, number one, and number two, using the power of the framework that we have deployed for the past 30 years to helping understand how the culture from a very broad standpoint of his company and the ecosystem he's building is based on abundance instead of scarcity, where everybody is taken care of. We're seeing some amazing numbers coming out of this approach. Unfortunately, I cannot reveal them, but they are very, very, very high up, above 10 digits. For a young startup, it's quite amazing. The platform itself creates an easy access for SMEs and their providers or clients to get continuing financing for trade. It will be easier for a safeway to make sure that their providers are paid on time, etc. It's a beautiful market where a lot of change can be made. The CEO's focus is how can we help the smaller companies to have quick access to funds because they are the one that suffers most and how we can help them grow and create more jobs, right? Because that's the bottom line and do it at a regional level or even country level so that we can create systemic change as well. Does that make sense?
Taylor Martin (23:22):
It does. I'm really interested how you're using the Heartful leadership method.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (23:28):
Heartful Method.
Taylor Martin (23:28):
There's just so much to unpack there, and I feel like- no pun intended- that's at the heart of what we're talking about here. Could you walk our listeners through that process so they can kind of get a better grasp of what that is?
Arnaud Saint-Paul (23:45):
In a few minutes. [Both laugh]
Taylor Martin (23:47):
It's a lot to unpack. I know.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (23:54):
The method is 150 slides. It's experiential. We go through these slides across 12 sessions. It's basically the sessions are two modules. One is going through the slides; the second half is using what has been happening throughout the week and we unravel them- I'll get back to that in a second- through the slides where we are really repositioning our understanding of our reality, how it works underneath the usual idea of what we have. It's really recreating an ecology of oneself, which is important because we need to have access to a new visual map of ourselves, of our reality, etc. Once we have this, we are able to get to the second stage. We go through it from different angles, from a religious standpoint, spiritual, science, technology, etc., Which are all saying the same thing, but it's decoded- let's put it that way- through that way through that visual experience that I was mentioning. So, it's very interesting. Once we do that, every session... The paradigm I hear is that life talks to us, so all of the events that are happening throughout one's week are talking to us, are telling us something about some belief systems that are active right now that we can shift. By shifting them, and that's the work we're doing in the second half of the session, we actually branch in a new type of reality that enables us to have access to more potentials, meaning more opportunities to do business, more people that are calling us all of a sudden to do business with us, etc.
Gradually throughout these 12 sessions, what happens is we go from what I call it a particular way of living life, meaning where everything is rigid. We have to hustle and do a lot of work and groundwork- it's a lot of effort- to a wave where we are in tune, in coherence, with our reality where I still have to have a direction. I still am looking at how to develop my business, for sure, that doesn't change, but I'm doing it in a very, very different way where I am able now to not only focus on the important bit, but also I'm able to accept that things can come my way instead of having to struggle for it and to be more in tune with myself, meaning that things will come to me instead of me having to go after them all the time. Therefore, I'm more at peace with myself. I'm happier. Obviously, we're not talking just about business, but personally as well.
It's getting into a place of abundance towards myself, towards the people that I'm working with through understanding myself in a deeper way through accepting and surrendering to myself. We're touching topics like servant leadership as well because as you "grow up," you are really getting into a place where in total humility, you're here to help others in their own growth as well. I'm really talking business oriented, right? It's super pragmatic. We're really about growing the individual that therefore grows everything around it, meaning the bottom line, the people that are working with me, my partner, my kids, whomever. So, it's deep work. Very, very rewarding at all levels. Not only personal satisfaction but also in the bank account. [Laughs]
After these 3 months, the individual has learned the tool to continue doing the process on their own. Sometimes some CEOs ask me to become an advisor of their company because we go deeper into their business, and it's necessary- let's put it that way- to have a third- party there. I hope it makes sense.
Taylor Martin (28:43):
[Laughs] It does. The one thing I keep thinking about is people always think bottom line, meaning one bottom line not the triple bottom line. But they think, "Okay. If I do all this stuff, will it improve the bottom line, the financial bottom line, of my company?" And to those people, you say what?
Arnaud Saint-Paul (29:02):
Yes. Yes. Yes. Of course. [Taylor laughs] Not only the simple bottom line but the triple and the sextuple bottom line. Not a problem. Life is magical, if we allow it. If we are ready to open up to it, life is magical. It can support us all the time. We are too afraid to allow that to happen. I'm sorry to touch on things that are maybe a bit sensitive for the audience and it's not pragmatic enough, but I can assure you that this is 100% the cause of whatever struggle you're having all the fricken' time. Sorry for my vocabulary.
We have so much beauty in ourselves, in our life, etc., and we have access to so much. We, 99% of the time, limit ourselves. We can untap that. We can uncork it. All of a sudden, we will bob out of the water and be part of the magic of what this life is. Obviously, this touches not just the spiritual understanding of oneself, not just the health or the relationships, but first and foremost business because all of that is just a reflection of who I believe I am. If I can shift that, and we do, then everything unfolds in an amazing, amazing way.
The reason why I have this life purpose is because I believe this is an amazing gift that we have in our hands. Everybody has it. Nobody is an exception to it. Again, we tend to forget and to say, "This is not for me. This is not me," or even excluded whatsoever. To your question earlier, most of us are so ensconced in our belief systems that we do not accept any other way of seeing the world. And it's okay. Obviously, it's okay. But when we take that journey, it is really, really, really, really amazing. Nowadays, I'm always surprised, not only with my clients but also in what we are doing, how things are unfolding for us. Just before we met, I was in Bali. I met investors there and then I was connected to the King of Malaysia and the President of Nigeria. All of a sudden, I got connections that I couldn't even dream of today, just by allowing.
Taylor Martin (31:59):
Right.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (31:59):
And that's the gift I would love to share with as many people as possible. That's why we're creating Give Nation and that's why we're doing the card game, and the Heartful Method is there for the people that wants to make a difference for themselves and their community.
Taylor Martin (32:17):
Going back to the Give Nation, I love the fact that you're focusing more on the next generation of people that will be taking over this world.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (32:27):
Yeah. It's very important.
Taylor Martin (32:27):
Because I think that's very important to get their mind to not follow where we have gone and to be more mindful and to be more caring for our planet and our society, and so on.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (32:40):
We don't have a choice.
Taylor Martin (32:41):
You can solve business problems all day long, but these other items are just as important and that's why I started the Triple Bottom Line because when I first heard about it, I immediately thought "three-legged stool." It's a triple bottom line. It's if you get all three of them right, you can do a lot of good in the world while making money and lifting people out of poverty and solving problems for people through products or services. And I love business. I think business is a great entity in itself when done right. I applaud you for everything you're doing. I hope our listeners understand that you haven't just been doing this for a couple of years. You've been doing this for a long time, and you've seen and witnessed transformation of all different types of organizations and businesses and market segments. So, I hope our listeners see the value in what you shared with us today.
Is there anything you want to do before we wrap up in terms of how people can follow you or follow some of your programs or get in touch with you or anything?
Arnaud Saint-Paul (33:41):
Sure, with pleasure. I have a website: https://arnaudsaintpaul.com, where you can connect with the different ventures. You can find me on LinkedIn, of course. Give Nation is https://givenation.world. If you're interested to buy the card game: https://www.capesgame.com/. I have social media; you can find [laughs]. That's rather easy. Be glad to talk with anyone who wants to make a difference.
Taylor Martin (34:16):
Arnaud, thank you so much for being on today's show. I really have enjoyed this conversation.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (34:22):
Thank you so much, too.
Taylor Martin (34:23):
I'm really interested to hear what people say. I always get emails from people, telling me about the show and how much they liked it. So, I'm really curious to see what I'm going to get out of this one because I feel like it's such more of a heartfelt show.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (34:35):
Me, too!
[Both laugh]
Taylor Martin (34:35):
We don't get a lot of that in business, and I'm looking forward to that. I'm grateful for your presence and for sharing with us.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (34:46):
Me, too. I am very grateful for you inviting me and for me to be able to share that gift that we have in our lives. You just said, about talking about love, through love we can do business. We can do it magically and beautifully. Actually, its more gifts coming our way, so why not? I'm very grateful. Thank you.
Taylor Martin (35:12):
Wonderful. Arnaud, thank you so much for being on today's show. I think all of our listeners and myself wish you all the best in your pursuit of helping a billion people.
Arnaud Saint-Paul (35:23):
We are on our way to it! Thank you.
Taylor Martin (35:26):
All right, everybody. Over and out.
[Upbeat theme music plays]
Female Voice Over (35:28):
Thanks for tuning into the Triple Bottom Line. Your host, Taylor Martin, is founder and Chief Creative of Design Positive, a strategic branding and accessibility agency. Interested in being interviewing on our podcast? Then visit designpositive.co and fill out our contact form. If you enjoyed today’s podcast, we would appreciate a review on Apple podcasts or whatever provider you are logging in from. This podcast is prepared by Design Positive and is not associated with any other entity. We look forward to having you back for another installment of the Triple Bottom Line.