Overview

The Wisdom to Wake Up Twenty-five hundred years ago, the Buddha defined a roadmap for living. Today his message can save corporate America from its chaos and corruption and initiate healthy change in the workplace. Is your company awake? Ask yourself the following questions and begin to explore what an “awake” organization is: Is the quality of communication in my organization open, spacious and motivating? Does my company foster a creative, non-threatening environment for its employees to do good work with passion? Is the leadership of my company mindful of its mission and values? Does my corporation have a goal that includes making an impact on the world that is for the better? Why Wake Up? In the twenty first century, dozens of companies make headline news by showing us how not to lead an organization. Yet, in the wake of this corporate corruption, astute managers view these lessons as opportunities, and they are transforming their organizations with future, values-based leadership. Perhaps in your own company, you can identify actions or management styles that appear self-serving or are not working. You may intuitively know that it is time to approach business in a new way, to upgrade the quality of communication both in and out of the boardroom. Each year, CEOs and managers seek ways to instill leadership that will yield positive financial results and improve employee morale. Yet, few business philosophies offer practical, useful applications to accomplish these goals. Perhaps you have tried some of the latest management techniques for success, only to receive marginal, short-term rewards. It is time for a new approach, one that you can use every day. Bringing the principles of Buddha into the boardroom is a unique strategy that can help you to cultivate lasting success throughout your organization. These timeless nuggets of wisdom were given to us nearly three centuries ago by the Buddha. Bringing Buddha into the workplace can become your action plan for long-term reward. The Buddha: A CEO The Buddha understood that at our core, each of us is basically good. It is that goodness that enhances our capacity for greatness. From this point of view, all of us are the Buddha. A chief executive officer, senior vice president or middle manager, in the mindset of the Buddha, can implement a highly effective way of doing business that will transform their corporation. As a leader, you foster the application and eventual fruition of that change. Buddha: 9-5 offers tools to identify what you love. Once identified, the next step is to bring that gift into the workplace by communicating it with clarity. Buddha: 9-5 offers a management style that combines your unique gifts with ageless communication tools that empower and engage you and your employees. It is the total integration of heart and mind, or in the words of the Buddha, compassion and wisdom. When you and your employees are driven by a desire to make a positive impact on your business, on the world, you experience a commitment that goes beyond a job or career. In many ways, it is a commitment to service. Our spirit is awakened when we can contribute to something larger than ourselves. A Buddhist master once exclaimed, “You have this precious human body in order to serve other living beings.” In a company that uses the leadership precepts of the Buddha, the process of doing the work itself motivates employees to excel. They know that their work is bringing lasting value and benefit to others and they are inspired to make a difference. From this point of view, the path becomes the goal and ultimately the means to prosperity. Entering this path requires working from your inherent intelligence. Wisdom is a noble strength that balances integrity and compassion. This is the consciousness of the Buddha—and the Buddha nature that resides in all of us. This nature is not weak or timid, aggressive or self-serving. When you consciously tap into your own profound wisdom, you communicate and take action from an extraordinary and far more effective place. You reveal who you really are with a powerful presence that fully engages employees and customers. The Eightfold Path to Authentic Leadership The first Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, gave us a vision, a practical doctrine of values and truths, termed The Eightfold Path. This path was created to help free the world from suffering and obtain enlightenment. He called this enlightenment “waking up.” The key to the enlightenment of your organization is The Eightfold Path to Authentic Leadership, a proven model that offers strategic practices to improve the bottom line for you and your company, increasing efficiency, productivity and creativity. This first-ever business application of the Eightfold Path provides a practical guideline to values-based leadership and management. It has been developed to serve as a master companion for anyone in the corporate world to carry at work and throughout life. The path includes a hands-on set of tools to raise the bar of authentic communication and interaction in all levels of the workplace from management to the boardroom, from the field to the executive office. The eight principles of the path are not presented as a step-by-step, progressive exercise. Each of the practices is interdependent and interrelates. The Buddha intended the path to be thought of as a wheel with eight interconnected spokes to guide you through the three essential values of life: Wisdom, Ethics and Mindful Awareness. These values are associated with the following path principles: Wisdom: 1. Right View: Vision 2. Right Intention: Mission Ethical Strategies: 3. Right Speech 4. Right Action 5. Right Livelihood 6. Right Effort Practice: 7. Right Mindfulness 8. Right Concentration: Meditation