In the novel of the same name by Herman Hess, Siddartha, enshrined a personal philosophy towards business that espoused high level of emotional intelligence (1). Today some of those concepts are being formally taught by companies like Google (2). Although some say that the message is getting diluted through commercialization, this concept is gaining traction in many places including education, healthcare and the legal profession.
A recent study systematically tested a famous prediction made years ago by mindfulness expert Jon Kabat-Zinn that practicing mindfulness techniques before a negation can have a positive effect on the outcome (3). In four separate experiments it was found that people who meditated experienced less anxiety which may lead to better performance (3).
Additional Resources on mindfulness in the workplace:
Google’s Search within Yourself Leadership Institute: http://siyli.org/
Johnson & Johnson’s Human Performance Institute Corporate Athlete promises that “participants in the course are taught how to train like an elite athlete, a Corporate Athlete, to strengthen and align energy across all four dimensions: body, heart, mind, and spirit.” : https://www.hpinstitute.com/training-solutions/corporate-athlete
Actress Goldie Hawn has started a foundation to teach mindfulness in schools: http://thehawnfoundation.org/
UNH Law has a very comprehensive Libguide on Mindfulness: http://law.unh.libguides.com/content.php?pid=632009
Sources
- Hesse H. Siddhartha. 1922.[ebook published 2008; cited 2015 Jan 20] Available from: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2500/2500-h/2500-h.htm (In the section labeled Kamela, search on the term “business-affairs” [no quotes]).
- Shachtman N. In Silicon Valley meditation is no fad. Wired [Internet]. 2013 Jun [cited 2015 Feb 20]. Available from: http://www.wired.com/2013/06/meditation-mindfulness-silicon-valley/
- Reb J, Narayanan J. Mindfully Eating Raisins Improves Negotiation Success:The Effect of Mindfulness on Negotiation Performance. Proceedings of 24rd IACM Annual Conference 2011 July 3 – 6; Istanbul (TR). Available from: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1872908 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1872908