Wisdom Revolution: Healing Corporate America through Practical Wisdom

In this Capstone paper, I present evidence on why a new wisdom revolution in business is imminent (or even already underway); why wisdom is the path to healing corporate America’s ills of employee disengagement, ethical lapses, and environmental collapse; and why wisdom in organizations is the answer to elevating the well-being of humanity, communities, global society and the earth we share. I use mini-case studies of General Motor’s rise and fall - and rise again under Mary Barra’s leadership, to illustrate and explore concepts of organizational and leadership wisdom. I review literature, theories and empirical evidence to propose definitions for wisdom, wise leadership, organizational wisdom, wisdom cultures; and explore how wisdom and positive psychology converge and diverge. Based on seminal theories for cultural and organizational change, I propose evidence-based strategies and pathways toward ushering in an age of wisdom, culminating in an 18-step playbook for leading an organizational transformation toward wisdom. Finally, I recommend wisdom-focused metrics to monitor progress and course correct, suggest how business schools might assist in producing wise future leaders from the beginning, and recommend areas for future research.