Why The Humane Side Of Business Is Crucial For Growth According to Tim Leberecht

In discussion with Allwork.Space’s Future of Work podcast, Tim Leberecht explains that his namesake “means right to live or live the right life.” 

It’s fitting, as Leberecht has spent the last several years exploring what it means to create a meaningful, beautiful life, and how the workplace plays a role in doing so. 

That’s why he started The House of Beautiful Business, a membership-based company that allows like-minded professionals to come together in various forms to expand their horizons and identify exactly what makes for a thriving business. 

“[People] always ask us, ‘So what exactly do you mean by beautiful business? What’s the definitive, you know, list or definition?’” said Leberecht. 

“We chose the term beauty because it is so elusive. It is in the eye of the beholder. It is, as the Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa said, beauty is what does not exist. So it’s basically what is in your imagination is everything worth aspiring for that does not exist yet.” 

Taking this mantra, Leberecht created a business community that focuses more on diversity, inclusion, and humane practices, rather than metrics and quotas. The company hosts various events around the world, as well as shares insight from experts on how to navigate the human side of business. 

He adds that the pandemic caused a sort of Great Awakening among workers, where in the face of mass uncertainty, workers decided to prioritize the important things in life.  

“[The] greatest regret that people always have when they’re on their deathbed is not more money, it’s not more success. It’s not more necessarily impact or not even romantic relationships. Interestingly enough, it’s friendship.” 

“They say, ‘I should have spent more time with those close to me, family of friends,’” said  Leberecht. “And so deep connections in whatever shade of form I think are really what makes a life worth living is what makes a life beautiful.”