Top 5 Books to Practise Mindfulness in Business
Do you believe in the power of mindfulness? Successful businesses—like Google—have used it to increase productivity, improve work satisfaction, and help employees bring their best self to work. These reads explain how you can incorporate it into your own professional life.
David Gelles, Mindful Work: How Meditation Is Changing Business from the Inside Out
Mindfulness has begun to transform workplaces, and companies like General Mills, Ford, and Google have developed extensive programs to incorporate it. David Gelles, a business reporter for the New York Times who has practised meditation for two decades, is one of the first authors to write about how mindfulness is actually benefiting companies that have adopted it. Not only does David’s book jump into real-world examples of companies benefiting from this new trend, he shows how readers can become more mindful themselves.
Rasmus, Jacqueline, and Gillian have one goal: to increase productivity in the office and at home. Researchers have found that modern office life is taking its toll on productivity, engagement, and creativity. We have become too overworked, unfocused, and busy. One Second Ahead argues that we need to work different so we are more focused and have less clutter on our mind, and by applying mindfulness to everyday work life, we can accomplish just that.
Uncovering Happiness is aiming to improve happiness by explaining how to take control of your mind, mood, and life. Dr. Goldstein shows—and backs with scientific discoveries—that mindfulness and self-compassion will reduce the risk of relapse in those who have experienced depression. The book is written in seven simple steps, and Dr. Goldstein uses innovations in neuroscience to help prove her concept. Uncovering Happiness offers an interesting outlook on mindfulness, concepts which can translate into being more present and happier at work.
Catherine R. Bell, The Awakened Company
The Awakened Company, an organization based out of Calgary, Alberta, brings up the notion that boom-bust business models are failing. Catherine introduces the concept of awakening, or being awakened, as a key foundation in making a shift into a new business model that works, and a concept that shares similar attributes to mindfulness. She argues that becoming more awakened will shift employees into more creative, sustainable, and responsive roles. The book sets to address how businesses can become energizing, sustaining, and regenerating by taking commerce to an awakened level. Focused on the idea that work is becoming more integrated in our daily lives, The Awakened Company introduces that the metrics for success in business need to change at a fundamental level.
Chade-Meng Tan is the designer of Google’s popular course Search Inside Yourself. Lucky for non-Google employees, Chade-Meng has made the highlights of the course (plus much more) accessible in his latest book, created in collaboration with a Zen master, a CEO, a Stanford University scientist, and an emotional intelligence expert named Daniel Goleman. The book offers tips to reduce stress, increase well-being, focus on creativity, and become more optimistic, all opportunities Chade-meng proves through his writing. Chade-meng writes: “Some people buy books that teach them to be liked; others buy books that teach them to be successful. This book teaches you both. You are so lucky.”