of hierarchies and promotions, where everyone is trying to get ahead and may be reluctant to acknowledge their reliance on—or express emotions to—their co-workers.  “We tend to think of organizations as transactional places where you’re supposed to be ‘professional,’” says Ryan Fehr, an assistant professor of management at the University of Washington, Seattle, who recently published a paper summarizing the landscape of gratitude in business. “We may think that it’s unprofessional to bring things like forgiveness or gratitude or compassion into the workplace.” Yet evidence suggests that gratitude and apprecia... posted on Jul 4 2018 (10,498 reads)

strategy and the goals for next three years. In one of those retreats I had a great thought: The most important company in my life is me, so, why not hold this same kind of retreat for myself? Every year, since 1991, I’ve spent two days by myself to reflect on my mission in life, and to face that great philosophical question: What is the purpose of my life? Is it money? Is it professional success? Is it something else? During these retreats I follow the same format we follow in our business retreats, only this time the company’s name is José Juan SA. JR: And after some time you decided to share that personal process with more people... JJ: Yes, while I was tea... posted on Sep 2 2018 (15,427 reads)

poorest people, the most disadvantaged areas to serve. And now you move to Hoi An, another traditional city. Have you ever hit a very low point facing great changes, and how did you come back? Giang: The low point was that after working in Hanoi for about five years, I got burnt out too. I felt like we are working against a big stone wall. Our organizing efforts in poor part of the city and disadvantaged areas are often challenged by the harsh local authorities, especially with some business interest. For example, for the abandoned land which we turned into a park, somebody else wanted to use that as a parking area for their cars. So our efforts to turn it into a park is met with... posted on Sep 5 2018 (3,825 reads)

the legal system would not support him and that work, he resolved to do something, and that became Mercy for Animals. Over the last 20 years, that organization has become an important group to assist in the move away from factory farming and the worst practices of animal agriculture to create a more kind, compassionate, and gentle human presence on the planet through the foods we eat. He also founded the Good Food Institute, which has become a formative group to change our institutional and business approaches towards agriculture and using technology to replace food animals. He co-founded a start-up of sorts, or fundraising vehicle, to support efforts to reduce suffering for animals thro... posted on Dec 5 2019 (5,059 reads)

is very much a grassroots organization at the city level. For example, in India we have a small movement in Bangalore, and a much bigger movement in Pune, in Mumbai and Delhi, in the larger cities that are growing in leaps and bounds. It’s almost always a concern for people who want to make a significant change, so in Pune, Delhi and Mumbai education is at the forefront of interest, and last year I went to India twice offering workshops and programs in schools and universities with business curricula. I did some work at the Management Development Institute outside Delhi, and SOIL, the School of Inspired Leadership, which has a master’s program in business and community dev... posted on Aug 18 2021 (3,160 reads)

Mayuka Yamazaki, a high-level business executive, ikebana — the ancient Japanese art of floral creations — is not just about arranging flowers. It is about attuning to the wisdom and beauty of nature and enriching our experience of being human. As a master of the art, she explains that ikebana is a word derived from the verb ikeru (to bring alive) and hana (flowers), or combined, “letting flowers live.” For over 20 years, Mayuka has been letting flowers live, and most recently, she has brought this practice to help restore wholeness to schools, international organizations, communities, and most notably, corporations. As a young child in ... posted on Jan 10 2023 (2,252 reads)

became a scientist because I wanted to save lives and I wrote poetry to save myself. My book of poems, The Whisper, is a lyrical conversation I had with the tiny voice that I had ignored for years while I climbed the corporate ladder. [From the book's blurb] Poems written by an executive who could no longer ignore the tiny voice inside herself that had an important message for her and the business world. The Whisper is a poetic engagement with the intimacy and audacity of being here human, alive. It reminds of what it is to hide from the world, and in doing so becoming hidden to our own selves. An invitation to integrate the many and multitudes that make us whole and avoid our se... posted on Oct 7 2023 (4,009 reads)

you sure you aren't making a mistake?" I had just announced to one of my dearest friends that I planned to walk away from Wall Street and my seven-figure salary. "Yes, I'm sure." But was I? Years earlier, I had moved to New York City with a degree in music and a husband who was beginning a Ph.D. program. My first job, and the best job I could get, had been as a secretary at a brokerage house. By working 70-80 hours a week, taking business courses at night, and doggedly pursuing a jump to the professional track, I finally got a break, and moved into investment banking. When I decided to leave Wall Street, I was the Senior Media and Telecom analyst for Latin America... posted on Sep 4 2011 (15,222 reads)

Melville's father was skeptical when his son first said that he wanted to use the profits from his successful summer lemonade stand to start his own soda company. Aaron Melville, who teaches business classes at a local college, did not believe his 9-year-old autistic son was ready to run his own business. Kent was determined to do something to help others with autism, however, which inspired his father to reconsider. Aaron described on a Facebook page for the organization, why he decided to help his son start Kent's Soda after initially encouraging him to wait until he was older. Kent pondered that for a minute. He then looked at me and said "Dad, ... posted on Mar 15 2012 (27,070 reads)

data for "impact" reports, illustrating how their ideas are not only innovative, but scalable. It's a numbers game to grow and, if possible, grow exponentially. That's the sign of success — numerical growth. Everything needs to have scale. Scalability is like sustainability now — another simple concept made far too abstract and complex. Yet, what used to be sustainable can no longer be so because we live at roller coaster speeds. The small-town businesses struggle against the giants because they cannot "scale" or, perhaps, they don't want to. Hence, as consumers, we have to decide do we go for the local "brand" or the... posted on May 22 2012 (15,698 reads)

says it's possible for the manager to convey emotions that are both authentic and positive, saying something like, "I know you're worried. Things aren't looking good, but you know, we have a way out of this and we can work [on it] together." The employees will appreciate the honesty and take comfort in the optimism, she says. Emotions as Valuable Data Emotional intelligence -- buzz words already familiar in psychology and education -- is now talked about in business circles as well, Barsade says. Business schools are teaching executives how to be emotionally intelligent, and how to manage the emotions of their employees. "The idea behind emotion... posted on Aug 25 2012 (38,116 reads)

any manager wish for that kind of loyalty and commitment? Support for this view comes from research by Jonathan Haidt at New York University. His research shows that seeing someone help another person creates a heightened state of well-being that he calls “elevation.” Not only do we feel elevation when we watch a compassionate act, but we are then more likely to act with compassion ourselves. When Haidt and his colleagues applied his research to a business setting, he found that when leaders were fair and self-sacrificing, their employees would experience elevation. As a consequence, they felt more loyal and committed and were more likely to ac... posted on Nov 25 2013 (29,798 reads)

putting others first, matchers go out of their way to dole out a bonus, in the form of compensation, recognition, or recommendations for promotions. Of course, these responses aren’t limited to matchers. Givers, too, are motivated to punish takers and reward fellow givers. But I’ve found that in the workplace, the majority of people are matchers, which means that they are the ones who end up dispensing the most taker taxes and giver bonuses. In an interdependent, interconnected business environment, what goes around comes around faster than it used to. At Google, for example, an engineer named Brian received eight bonuses in the span of a single year, including three in j... posted on Oct 14 2013 (5,865 reads)

find her tasks to be especially fulfilling, she might derive meaning from other aspects of her job, such as friendships with colleagues. So, what are the sources of meaningful experiences at work? We have compiled a list of ways that work can become more meaningful, based on our reading of literature in organization behavior and psychology. Purpose 1. Contributions beyond yourself. The people at the nonprofit Kiva channel micro-loans to poor people who can use the money to get a small business going and improve their lives. Their work clearly has a greater purpose—that of helping people in need. This taps into a longing to have a meaningful life defined as making contribution... posted on Dec 30 2013 (38,084 reads)

– an amazing feat for any student (the following video details his journey from childhood to college). ​ Although there were many potential scholarships available when Derrius sought financial aid, there were no resources on how to apply effectively. Upon his college graduation, Derrius made it his mission to help other promising students tap the potential financial resources available for higher education. He founded Million Dollar Scholar, a social business that bridges the scholarship information gap and provides tangible resources to help students gain financial-aid to fund their dreams. He talks about his business and “how-to” boo... posted on Dec 28 2013 (27,347 reads)

on Facebook but have forgotten the art of loving each other in real life. Disconnection is a growing epidemic.  And it’s not a problem isolated to teenagers. It’s a growing problem the workplace. According to a recent study 70% of people are emotionally disconnected at work. And yes we even have a price-tag for that disconnection. It’s calculated to be 300 billion dollars in lost productivity annually. So this is not just a social or spiritual problem. It’s also a business problem, an economic problem. What’s the solution? Making meaningful products is worthwhile and necessary. But it’s not enough. In fact another study recently showed that the m... posted on Jan 15 2014 (90,176 reads)

mindfulness to be just another buzzword or New Age fad, think again. Mindfulness has been around for centuries and has now made the transition from Tibetan monasteries to the corporate boardrooms of America. In "The Mindful Revolution," a recent TIME magazine article, Kate Pickert says that already many devotees see mindfulness "as an indispensable tool for coping—both emotionally and practically—with the daily onslaught." Is it worth your while, as a business owner, to pay attention to this trend? The Meaning of Mindfulness One of the best definitions of mindfulness comes from Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor of medicine emeritus at the University ... posted on Jun 1 2014 (144,076 reads)

help us to tap into a sense of play and boost our powers of creative thinking. And regardless of whether your day job is creatively fulfilling or not, a creative side hobby that's fun but challenging can be beneficial in a number of ways. Having an outside-work hobby you enjoy (and that also challenges you and keeps you feeling engaged) can relieve stress and give you a new way of thinking -- and it's a good reminder that work isn't everything. Some of your best ideas for a new business plan may not come while you're sitting in front of the computer with the cursor blinking, but instead when you're in a completely different headspace while engaging in a fun creative ... posted on Aug 19 2014 (28,236 reads)

This innovation therefore has the potential to create enormous opportunities for students, employers, and star teachers even as it upends the cost structure and practices of traditional campuses. Capturing the promise of this new world without losing the best of the old will require fresh ways to square radically expanded access to world-class instruction with incentives to create intellectual property and scholarly communities, plus university leaders savvy enough to shape these evolving business models while they still can. Consider the first of the two converging trends. As is well known, frustration with the performance of traditional institutions is mounting. Only six in ten st... posted on Nov 26 2014 (13,387 reads)

some people (three I know personally) have changed careers to work on the new economy after hearing such stories. While not everyone can be just like Brice, he can help us take a little leap of faith that gets us all closer to an economy and culture we actually want to live in. Brice Royer gives a speech alongside the Mayor of Vancouver Mira Luna: What does gift economy mean to you? Brice Royer: For me, the gift economy is about family. It's about not turning love into a business. I learned that the "gift economy" is just a term used by university professors to talk about what people in small towns do naturally and how ancient human societies lived. They hel... posted on May 25 2015 (23,404 reads)