When the topic is Easter, there are several business-related ideas that can be discussed, such as the economic importance of this holiday, the amount of cocoa produced to supply the businesses demand and the concerns surrounding the packages, and how companies can adopt more sustainable practices for a more conscious celebration.

There are in fact several alternatives to promote a more sustainable holiday, including purchasing chocolate from companies that have ethically sourced cocoa, fair-trade certifications and are advocates for this cause - such as Tonys Chocolonely - or companies that are focusing on reducing the use of plastic on its wrappings to promote a more eco-friendly holiday.

These are all highly important topics to promote a more sustainable celebration, including the essential role consumers have while conducting their purchases, consciously choosing the companies they are shopping from. Luckily, that is a trend that has been growing over the past years, as consumers are changing their behavior to adopt more sustainable practices.

However, after acknowledging all these sustainable topics we could discuss, as a master's student, “halfway” through childhood and a professional career, I would like to take you on a different journey. You might have started this reading expecting to go in one direction – and here is where I tell you we will have a detour. We will focus instead on the magic of this holiday – and on the unexpected ways to perceive imagination.

The story of Easter - more precisely, of the Easter Bunny and chocolate eggs - is closely linked to childhood and the development of this period as the funniest phase in the formation of the human being. And that has a great weight in the celebration of this holiday, which has become one of the most delicious ones, fulfilled with chocolates, colors and family traditions.

Like Christmas, Easter has a very special magic of its own. And once again, another very important part of this celebration is the children, how they perceive magic and how they kind of become more sparkly and magical because of these celebrations. Kids seem to have magic on their own, that lies in the way they understand life. A sensitivity that, over the years, gets a bit rust and starts failing. It is something we kind of lose during our development. In that sense, Easter can be an invitation to celebrate life and mainly to remember what it really means to be a child, and how we can use the “childish look” to look at life around us.

For instance, have you ever considered how imagination plays an important role in innovation? And how imagination is often associated with kids? To have a “childish look” over life means to give yourself the possibility to see things from a different perspective, to find new paths and new ways of thinking. To develop new ideas and connect dots that didn’t seem to belong together before but in the end, are perfect components of a model. 

When we allow ourselves to think a bit more outside our own boundaries, to be a bit more imaginative, we find that our limitations are very much our own - and not always represent the reality we live in. We tend to imprison ourselves in our own beliefs. In business, that means that the traditional way, the way we are used to doing things, not always is the best way. When we adopt new mindsets and frameworks, we have a lot of potentials to use our imagination in our favor and to properly innovate and design and create new processes. And that is the path to create a more sustainable world: with a new and fresh perspective on business, its purpose, its processes, and its limitations.

And that's the beauty of Easter and what it represents. That is the magic I invite you to reflect on. On new beginnings, new opportunities, and how you can use the imagination to have a more soft, kind, and childish look towards life and business - in the best sense of it.

Have a magical Easter and a great and impactful week!

Natália Cantarino Féres
Master Student
Researcher & Communications Manager
Center for Responsible Business & Leadership 

This article refers to edition #81 of the "Have a Great and Impactful Week" Newsletter.
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