�鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Archives | �鶹ԭ�� News Center

Mindfulness: The Surprising Business Model

Angela Klose — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 12:15:00 +0000

�鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice is bringing its successful formula to customers around the world, helping them build their own mindfulness communities through training courses and consulting services.

At first, Peter Bostelmann, chief mindfulness officer at �鶹ԭ��, thought he had misheard when Siemens, a long-standing �鶹ԭ�� customer, asked whether he could provide mindfulness courses for its employees back in 2016. “I felt a slight cognitive dissonance,” Bostelmann recalls. “You want us to teach you mindfulness? And then I realized that, back then, we had already built up over five years of expertise establishing mindfulness practices in a global organization.”

It wasn’t long before the appeal of the Search Inside Yourself (SIY) program, launched at �鶹ԭ�� in 2013, spread beyond the company’s boundaries and customers started to see �鶹ԭ�� in a new light: as a pioneer of corporate mindfulness. The enterprise resource planning (ERP) expert was now offering training courses and consulting services to help customers introduce mindfulness practices into their own organizations. Since then, �鶹ԭ��’s mindfulness trainers have held more than 100 SIY training courses for customers. What’s more, , as part of the Future of Work team at �鶹ԭ��, has helped over 20 large enterprises train their own SIY instructors and build internal mindfulness communities.

Evidence-Based Program

One of these enterprises is SLB, a global technology company driving energy innovation, with more than 100,000 employees. Marie-Isabelle Fleuri, Corporate Health and Well-Being manager at SLB, was entirely convinced of the benefits of working with �鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice after attending an SIY course.

“With its strong focus on leadership and neuroscience, the SIY approach rests on compelling scientific evidence,” she says. “From experience working in technology companies for 20 years, I knew that if I wanted to bring the topic of mindfulness to SLB successfully, it had to resonate with the culture. And I knew �鶹ԭ�� because we use its ERP system. Implementing it involved a massive change management process that impacted the entire company before it was eventually seen as a good thing. That’s the �鶹ԭ�� effect.”

Fleuri was keen to make SIY a pillar of SLB’s well-being offering, but initially couldn’t secure the budget she needed to run a pilot training course. Thanks to the existing relationship between the two companies, though, she was eventually able to arrange sponsorship for SLB’s first program.

That initial investment has long since paid off. Although SLB now has 13 SIY trainers of its own, it still asks for �鶹ԭ�� trainers to help meet the strong demand from its employees for training. At least 19 on-site courses are due to take place with �鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice this year. The �鶹ԭ�� program also provides advice on many aspects of embedding mindfulness in the company culture over the long term. That’s vital support, says Fleuri: “If we had to create all the necessary content and processes ourselves, it would have been an impossible task in such a short period of time. The support from �鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice gave us the strength to have such an impact. We’ve trained more than 900 people at SLB in two years and implemented mindfulness practices around the world. I see our cooperation with �鶹ԭ�� as a shining example of the power of mindfulness, of how collaboration can work across two organizations, and of our capacity to support each other – to be empathetic and passionate.”

The cooperation between SLB and �鶹ԭ�� was sincere, open, and deeply trusting from the start, says Bostelmann. “Our key message is not, ‘We’ve got a product, and we’ll sell it to you.’ It’s about how we can help translate the knowledge we’ve gained so that it resonates in a different company culture. I can sense the same desire at SLB to truly bring about lasting change in the company culture. That’s what makes working together such fun,” he says.

Reflecting SLB’s purpose to “create amazing technology that unlocks access to energy for the benefit of all,” its training course on mindfulness and emotional intelligence is entitled “Unlock Your Power” (UYP).

“By cultivating better emotional intelligence in our people, we are proactively defining and evolving our culture at SLB toward healthier and happier employees and shaping the work environment to allow us to thrive. Working together with �鶹ԭ�� and what we are learning through the Unlock Your Power program is central to this process of evolution.”
Dr. Jonathan O’Keefe, SLB global medical advisor

Beginner’s Mind

Working with mindfulness customers is a continuous learning experience for everyone involved. �鶹ԭ��’s mindfulness experts are fascinated, for example, by the way Fleuri has seamlessly integrated mindfulness into the health organization and the smart way she is marketing the activities.

“On the one hand, we learn from our customers; on the other, we develop best practices and materials for them that we can then also use ourselves. Teach-the-teacher courses for customers have honed our understanding of the kind of person required to drive a company’s cultural transformation forward,” says Bostelmann.

As Fleuri explains, the feedback course participants give is very encouraging: “The first day, they are generally rather reserved, as they are unsure what to expect. On the second day, they’re glad they signed up. And toward the end of the second day, they don’t want to leave! It’s moving to see them engaging with each other like old friends.”

Ambitious Goals

Fleuri presented SLB’s mindfulness story at the Mindful Leader Summit in Washington, D.C., in November 2022, four years after she first heard Bostelmann giving a speech there on �鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice. Things really have come full circle, but her mission at SLB is by no means complete. She is currently growing the trainers pool to reach the core of the organization, especially the field. This requires trainings in more than 10 different languages as well as mobile and flexible engagement with the operations teams.

“The opportunity is to embed our mindfulness program into the company culture,” she says. “It’s about empowering people to prioritize their health and well-being, to be at their best for themselves but also for the organization. We see this principle already anchored in our cooperation with the �鶹ԭ�� team. We’re all looking for ways to improve an organization’s performance by fostering psychological safety – to encourage creativity, innovation, and sustainability. I believe that mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs will help us achieve this goal and, ultimately, humanize the organization.”

“UYP is an excellent and very relevant initiative, superbly conducted and executed. What I liked most is the non-prescriptive nature…providing a toolbox from which to pick and choose techniques based on the individual, environment, and situation. This will go a long way in improving motivation and productivity. No wonder that the sessions are selling out! My expectations were clearly surpassed, and I highly recommend this for all levels of the organization.”
Arijit Paul, HSE director practices, SLB

Mindfulness Is Making Waves

Bostelmann sees great opportunities in future customer cooperations: “Customers like SLB from the oil and gas industry, but also from health, consumer goods, and insurance are pioneers in their sectors that, with our help, have implemented mindfulness. Although they are very different from IT firms, they were able to introduce the �鶹ԭ�� model into their company culture successfully. I find this particularly gratifying. We can envisage addressing other industries in the future to create new ‘lighthouses.’”

In the 10^th anniversary year of the �鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice program, Bostelmann and his team plan to deepen their customer relationships. The aim is to create a network in which companies can support and inspire each other. With this in mind, he attended the Mindful Leader Summit in September.

“Mindfulness is a societal trend that’s being reflected in the workplace,” he says. “People sense the need for it. Mindfulness practice allows them to protect their mental resilience as they navigate their increasingly volatile lives.”

Mindfulness: The New Superpower

Angela Klose — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 12:15:14 +0000

Mindfulness Day 2022 took place this week and is an annual reminder of the value of a mindfulness practice to our personal well-being and successful coexistence, as well as fostering a civil society in an increasingly connected world.

�鶹ԭ�� has long been aware of these benefits. The �鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice started as a grass-roots initiative by a few employees in 2012 and has become a key component of �鶹ԭ��’s culture.

The community around �鶹ԭ��’s program for mindfulness and emotional intelligence is supported by more than 70 certified trainers for �鶹ԭ��’s-internal program, Search Inside Yourself, as well as more than 90 mindfulness ambassadors at more than 50 locations and in over 30 countries. More than 14,000 employees have taken the 16-hour training course, offered both online or on site, with thousands more on the waiting list to do so.

The program is not limited to �鶹ԭ�� employees. One hundred Search Inside Yourself training courses have already been held for �鶹ԭ�� customers, who are happy to draw on our expertise in introducing the scientifically substantiated mindfulness practices in global organizations. �鶹ԭ�� has already helped more than 20 large companies to train Search Inside Yourself trainers and establish their own mindfulness communities.

Young talents considering working for �鶹ԭ�� have asked specifically about opportunities for practicing mindfulness on the job.

Christian Schmeichel, chief future of work officer at �鶹ԭ��, is certain: “Mindfulness and emotional intelligence are two fundamental skills that will decide on a company’s future viability. You have to reflect on your personal values and strengths and how you can best bring them to the company if you want to work successfully in the long term.”

Consequently, he has made the mindfulness practice program an important part of his future of work agenda and an element of the company’s Global Health, Safety & Well-Being team. Important focuses include supporting managers, developing the personal potential of employees, and promoting mental health.

Peter Bostelmann is chief mindfulness officer and head of �鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice. He sees this step as confirmation of the committed work by his team and the mindfulness practice community: “Mindfulness isn’t some social nonsense; it’s a prerequisite for authentic, powerful human interaction. We want to change our culture toward more creativity, better focus, greater resiliency, better leadership qualities, and well-being at all levels of the company. ”

Bostelmann feels it is important to point out that mindfulness practice and emotional intelligence are not far-removed concepts — they are very true to life and can be used directly at work, as shown by these three videos:

On Mindfulness Day 2022, the �鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice team launched a new initiative with Insight Timer, the market leader for free meditation apps.

Insight Timer users can now access a from the �鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice program that were recorded by mindfulness coaches from �鶹ԭ��. In addition, �鶹ԭ�� employees in the Insight Timer workplace area will have the option to form their own groups — for instance, to meditate together as a team or recommend suitable content.

The meditation sessions are offered in a variety of languages, to reflect the diversity of �鶹ԭ��, with more sessions planned. The program is open to everyone, from beginners who have just taken the Search Inside Yourself course and are looking to integrate mindfulness as a habit in their working lives to experienced meditators who are looking for new inspiration. It will make it even easier for people to use their new mindfulness superpower in their everyday lives.

Virtual Mindfulness Practices for High-Stress Times

Angela Klose — Fri, 12 Jun 2020 13:15:43 +0000

Like many, I have been watching the novel coronavirus coming closer to my life. Colleagues or members of their families have tested positive. My younger son had to stay in the house for two weeks after coming back from a high-risk area. I have been working from home, confined with my family.

Like many, I have aging family members and friends I am worrying about. And yes, at times I wake up at night with thoughts of fear.

It is a completely normal reaction to feel insecure, worried, and frightened in this uncertain, dynamically changing situation. It is also normal to at times feel restless and angry, facing uncertainty about how long this crisis will last and what financial, social, and political consequences it will entail for society.

These perceived threats to our safety and viability trigger our amygdala, an almond-shaped structure in the center of our brain that stimulates emotional responses, including fear, anxiety, and aggression. The amygdala has been instrumental in our survival for the past 3 million years. But in times like these, it adds one more layer to the stress caused by current circumstances.

Click the button below to load the content from YouTube.

Always allow YouTube

We have a choice in how we deal with difficult emotions, allowing us to calm down and become more resilient. For working from home, �鶹ԭ�� Global Mindfulness Practice has developed an “ABC” technique to practice.

A for Awareness and Acceptance: Become aware of any difficult emotion that is present in this very moment. Accept that it’s there and investigate how it expresses in your body. We can also name it – “This is anxiety” – which activates our prefrontal cortex that regulates the overreacting amygdala.
B for Balance or Beginners Mind: Try not to judge whatever you are feeling. Try instead to investigate it with an attitude of openness and curiosity as if you encountered it for the first time.
C for Compassion and Connection: Recognize that there is nothing wrong about your emotion and that actually a lot of people feel like you.

Finally, ask yourself, “What is needed in this situation right now?”

Fear isolates and disunites us. In some ways, this is also a side effect of the current measures against the spread of COVID-19: social distancing, quarantine, staying home.

The antidote to fear is the feeling of being supported and not alone, understanding that we are all facing the same challenge. I could be you and you could be me. Maybe this pandemic is a chance to realize how interconnected we all are, how the health and wellness of human beings everywhere impacts all of us. By exercising our minds and supporting our environment, we have a chance to influence the post-COVID-19 world.

Fear diminishes when we feel connected. By asking “How do I want to live in this moment? What is important to me right now? How can I be of service?” we can decide to reach out to others and to socialize – using video-conferencing tools to conduct online wine tastings, dinners, or even virtual parties, or by chatting with our neighbors from balcony to balcony. We can also engage in activities that help others; for example, doing errands for the elderly in the neighborhood.

Practicing compassion and mindfulness helps us connect to our inner reservoir of calm and clarity and find the courage to care of each other in these challenging times.

According to Luis Cozolino, professor of Psychology from Pepperdine University in California, “We are not the survival of the fittest, we are the survival of the nurtured.”

Bring a virtual mindfulness practice into your daily working routine in the home office:

Before going crazy in front of your laptop because a colleague’s behavior makes you angry, try the .
When you feel so stressed that you do not even taste the food you are eating, try .
To feel fully awake and connected before starting a virtual presentation, you can do the .

There is one powerful resource that nurtures all of us: We can consciously observe and celebrate the good moments these days from a healthy distance – the warm rays of the spring sun caressing our faces, the cool refreshing air while we are walking outside, a bird singing from the top of a blossoming tree, the heartwarming smile another person gives us.

Whenever you live a good moment, take time for a very simple practice:

In the first breath, focus on your breath, feel it in your body.
In the second breath, ask yourself, “What I am grateful for right now?”
In the third breath, take in the good and enjoy the pleasant feeling it evokes in your body.

Let’s practice together, because we are all in this together.

Listen to the full interview with Peter Bostelmann, chief mindfulness officer at �鶹ԭ��: