Meditation in The Corporate Boardroom
Research at Harvard Business School has concluded that "meditation and intuition are
the two most valuable executive tools for the 21st century".
Imagine a senior management team or a board of directors who are gathered together to make several
important decisions. On the table are crucial matters that could change the course of corporate life, or even
make the different between success and failure of the company.
As the chairperson lays out the agenda for the meeting and begins to launch into a detailed analysis of the
issues at hand, a loud “buzz” is heard in the room. The chairperson looks up from her notes to see that virtually
everyone in the room is engaged in loud chatter, and no one is really paying any attention to her at all. As soon
as she recovers from the shock of this surprise, she loudly demands attention. The room goes quiet. But after
a few seconds, the buzz picks up once again. Once again, the impatient demand for attention is made. And
once again, after a few seconds, the buzz starts up again.
Now imagine this buzz, quiet, buzz scene going on in the boardroom for two or three hours. Unthinkable, you
say. Just would not happen, right? How could important decisions be made if most of the people in the room
were not really paying attention and their minds were on something else except for a few seconds of
intermittent focus?
Would the scene be more easily imagined as possible and believable if everyone’s “internal chatter” was
somehow made externally audible? Now, that VP of Marketing who is worried about his son who just dropped
out of college to take up his true passion, pottery, could be heard calming his wife, or himself, or raging at this
son, off and on, through the entire meeting. How about the General Manager who cannot keep his mind off that
sweet young thing in merchandising. And then there's the CFO who keeps rehearsing his upcoming meeting
with bankers scheduled for later that day.
At a time when focus, clarity of thought, and the applied use of well-honed listening skills are critical, most of
the great minds in that room are somewhere else. Maybe this is part of the reason that we read that we only
use a small percentage of our brain. Most of us are rarely “in the moment” and attentive to the present for more
than brief periods of time. Most of our time is spent reliving the past and anticipating the future, trying to steer
the ship of our everyday lives in the right direction, or at least in one that will avoid disaster.
Meditation is a proven and effective way of quieting of the mind, and the relaxation and stress management
“techniques” that are at the core of meditation practice enhance focus, clarity of thought, and improve listening
skills. When we learn to use the simple tools of meditation, we can consciously quiet the mind’s internal
chatter. With meditation, we can tap a quiet pool of intuitive wisdom that presents solutions and sees
opportunities that the chattering mind misses.
It may be some time before meditation makes it to the mainstream of corporate planning - although research at
Harvard Business School has concluded that "meditation and intuition are the two most valuable executive
tools for the 21st century". But there are visionaries in corporate life this very minute who are seeking out-of-
the-box methods of creative and effective leadership.
Now, where are those elite corporate visionaries who are ready to sign up their senior management team for
meditation and intuition classes and send them on executive wellness retreats? If this resonates with you,
call Jeff Belyea on his direct line (cell phone) at 727-542-7117 to schedule a free introductory presentation.
Research at Harvard Business School has concluded that "meditation and intuition are
the two most valuable executive tools for the 21st century".
Imagine a senior management team or a board of directors who are gathered together to make several
important decisions. On the table are crucial matters that could change the course of corporate life, or even
make the different between success and failure of the company.
As the chairperson lays out the agenda for the meeting and begins to launch into a detailed analysis of the
issues at hand, a loud “buzz” is heard in the room. The chairperson looks up from her notes to see that virtually
everyone in the room is engaged in loud chatter, and no one is really paying any attention to her at all. As soon
as she recovers from the shock of this surprise, she loudly demands attention. The room goes quiet. But after
a few seconds, the buzz picks up once again. Once again, the impatient demand for attention is made. And
once again, after a few seconds, the buzz starts up again.
Now imagine this buzz, quiet, buzz scene going on in the boardroom for two or three hours. Unthinkable, you
say. Just would not happen, right? How could important decisions be made if most of the people in the room
were not really paying attention and their minds were on something else except for a few seconds of
intermittent focus?
Would the scene be more easily imagined as possible and believable if everyone’s “internal chatter” was
somehow made externally audible? Now, that VP of Marketing who is worried about his son who just dropped
out of college to take up his true passion, pottery, could be heard calming his wife, or himself, or raging at this
son, off and on, through the entire meeting. How about the General Manager who cannot keep his mind off that
sweet young thing in merchandising. And then there's the CFO who keeps rehearsing his upcoming meeting
with bankers scheduled for later that day.
At a time when focus, clarity of thought, and the applied use of well-honed listening skills are critical, most of
the great minds in that room are somewhere else. Maybe this is part of the reason that we read that we only
use a small percentage of our brain. Most of us are rarely “in the moment” and attentive to the present for more
than brief periods of time. Most of our time is spent reliving the past and anticipating the future, trying to steer
the ship of our everyday lives in the right direction, or at least in one that will avoid disaster.
Meditation is a proven and effective way of quieting of the mind, and the relaxation and stress management
“techniques” that are at the core of meditation practice enhance focus, clarity of thought, and improve listening
skills. When we learn to use the simple tools of meditation, we can consciously quiet the mind’s internal
chatter. With meditation, we can tap a quiet pool of intuitive wisdom that presents solutions and sees
opportunities that the chattering mind misses.
It may be some time before meditation makes it to the mainstream of corporate planning - although research at
Harvard Business School has concluded that "meditation and intuition are the two most valuable executive
tools for the 21st century". But there are visionaries in corporate life this very minute who are seeking out-of-
the-box methods of creative and effective leadership.
Now, where are those elite corporate visionaries who are ready to sign up their senior management team for
meditation and intuition classes and send them on executive wellness retreats? If this resonates with you,
call Jeff Belyea on his direct line (cell phone) at 727-542-7117 to schedule a free introductory presentation.
| GOAL ACHIEVEMENT STRATEGIES AND STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY EXECUTIVE Where are those elite corporate visionaries looking for Creative Leadership Training and who are ready to sign up their senior management team for meditation and intuition classes and send them on executive wellness retreats? If this resonates with you, call Jeff Belyea on his direct line (cell phone) at 727-542-7117 or email jeff@mindgoal.com to schedule a free introductory presentation. |