Meditation for Management

Meditation for Management
Zen training for execs

Do you ever think about becoming a better boss? You might consider mastering the ancient art of meditation where peace and prosperity do, indeed, come together. In Australia, some top level executives are finding their "Buddha nature" in the practice and disciplines of Tibetan meditation.

Recently, 28 top business leaders flocked to an annual Buddhist retreat, a two-day event led by Tibetan master Sogyal Rinpoche. The author of The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, teaches these executives the ancient practice and disciplines of Buddhist meditation. And it's not just altering their consciousness, it's affecting their bottom line!

Attendee Gordon Cairns, CEO of Lion Nathan, told a New Zealand publication that he was "a horrible boss - driven by power, task-oriented and only concerned with getting the job done, whatever the cost" prior to beginning his meditation practice in 1999.

"That was bad for me and bad for the company - because really good people didn't want to work for me - and bad for my family. I'm glad to say that has changed," says Cairns who has now been on Boss magazine's "True Leaders" list two years in a row. He attributes this to meditation.

According to reports, between November 2000 and November 2004, with Cairns at the helm, Lion Nathan shares also rose by 109% and the company delivered total returns of 145%. He's since left the company and taken on a role as Director of Westpac, the Seven Network and Opera Australia, where people describe him as "affable," "likeable" and "easygoing."

The benefits of meditation have been known in the West for more than three decades with science increasingly showing the beneficial effect it has on the immune system, relieving anxiety and creating a greater capacity in the brain for happiness.

Other equally successful attendees of the seminar note their inspirational figures as Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi and the Tibetan masters themselves.

"Oftentimes, the compassionate answer or decision will be much harder than the ruthless or expedient answer," one reported.

"I would sooner follow someone capable of empathy, of listening and who had the company's overall interest at heart, than someone out for their own gain," said another.

Seems peace and prosperity do go hand in hand - even in business.