Ajahn Brahmavamso was invited to give a talk on how managers can improve their ability by following the principles of Buddhism at the Sasin Graduate Institue of Business Administration, Thailand in May 2009. He said executives were successful not because of their IQ or intellectual capabilities, but because of their "EQ" [emotional quotient], or their ability to communicate and to make great friendships and networks. Here is the summary of his talk:1. RELAX
"It's the law of mind," the abbot said. "If your body needs to exercise, your mind becomes powerful through stillness. In business, you need to have a strong mind to compete, and to see what others don't see."
2. DON'T DWELL ON YOUR PAST FAILURES
Dwelling on past failures and assigning blame for mistakes caused a loss of morale. On the other hand, inspiration and encouragement can be found from recalling successes, and repeating them again for greater accomplishments.
"Success is taken for granted," he said. "That's why we are not happy
Ajarn Brahm said "Now" is the most important time but many people are too busy thinking about what's going to happen next.
He told a story that came originally from his Buddhist master Ajahn Chah Bodhinyana Mahathera.
"Once upon a time, there were two chicken farmers," he said. "Farmer No 1 got up early in the morning to go to his chicken shed to collect the chickens' s*** in a basket. Then he took it home, where it smelled so bad that everybody had to run away. Farmer No 2 collected his chickens' eggs in his basket, prepared omelets for his family and sold the rest of the eggs on the market.
"When you remember your past and bring it into your present, are you collecting s***, or are you collecting eggs?" Ajahn Brahm asked.
3. THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IS THE ONE YOU'RE WITH
The most important person is the one you're with, whoever that person may happen to be.
If you're in your organisation, the most important one is whoever is in front of you right now. If you're with clients, they're your most important persons. If you think that the one in front of you is your most important person, then you can communicate with him well, instead of thinking: when will he go away?
Be with them. If it's your boss, or a potential client, give them a degree of importance. Many people will say: I forgot about them 'because I'm busy'. I give them importance. It's an easy investment and you can get rewards.
4. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO AS A MANAGER
The most important thing to do as a manager is 'to care'.
If it's your customer, you care for her. Or if it's your boss, you care. It's a synergy to get people to work together.
5. TRUST
One of the biggest problems in achieving economic success was the cost involved in being unable to trust other people. For instance, sellers worry that buyers may not pay on time.
If we can trust, and trust is well-founded, then it will bring down transaction costs significantly and give a significant boost to any economy.
6. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Very often managers give up performance assessment because they don't want to upset people.
However, in any business, it's a manager's job to improve performance and sometimes criticise subordinates. Ajahn Brahm suggested that managers use what he called "the sandwich method" by giving praise and pointing out a subordinate's positive qualities before identifying his weaknesses.
"When you praise someone, they will open up. Everyone likes a compliment, and it also shows that you care for them," he said. "Realise also that if a worker has a problem, it's your problem as well. When it becomes 'our problem', you will find a solution."
He cited a government department in the United Kingdom which was in the habit of measuring staff performance according to how many contracts they could get signed in Brussels [HQ of the European Commission]. A consequence was that all the department's qualified people "burned out" and left the organisation. The department later changed its system to reward officials who worked hard, or in other words, rewarded the process rather than the outcome.
Life is a process. It's how we achieve, more than what we achieve. If, this time, we're still not winning, then next time we will win. If you do it the right way, then eventually you will be rewarded. If you take short cuts or short-term profits, that's how we have ended up with - long-term recession.
Source : Monk shows correct path to business
Ajahn Brahm held up a glass of water at arm's length and asked his audience: "How heavy this glass?
"If I keep holding it for five minutes, it will appear to be quite heavy. In 10 minutes, I'll be in pain. If I hold it for half an hour, I'll be very stupid monk," he said, laughing.
Then he explained his point: it doesn't matter how much responsibility one has, a person becomes stressed if they hold on to duties for too long without taking a rest.
"It's the law of mind," the abbot said. "If your body needs to exercise, your mind becomes powerful through stillness. In business, you need to have a strong mind to compete, and to see what others don't see."
2. DON'T DWELL ON YOUR PAST FAILURES
Dwelling on past failures and assigning blame for mistakes caused a loss of morale. On the other hand, inspiration and encouragement can be found from recalling successes, and repeating them again for greater accomplishments.
"Success is taken for granted," he said. "That's why we are not happy
Ajarn Brahm said "Now" is the most important time but many people are too busy thinking about what's going to happen next.
He told a story that came originally from his Buddhist master Ajahn Chah Bodhinyana Mahathera.
"Once upon a time, there were two chicken farmers," he said. "Farmer No 1 got up early in the morning to go to his chicken shed to collect the chickens' s*** in a basket. Then he took it home, where it smelled so bad that everybody had to run away. Farmer No 2 collected his chickens' eggs in his basket, prepared omelets for his family and sold the rest of the eggs on the market.
"When you remember your past and bring it into your present, are you collecting s***, or are you collecting eggs?" Ajahn Brahm asked.
3. THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON IS THE ONE YOU'RE WITH
The most important person is the one you're with, whoever that person may happen to be.
If you're in your organisation, the most important one is whoever is in front of you right now. If you're with clients, they're your most important persons. If you think that the one in front of you is your most important person, then you can communicate with him well, instead of thinking: when will he go away?
Be with them. If it's your boss, or a potential client, give them a degree of importance. Many people will say: I forgot about them 'because I'm busy'. I give them importance. It's an easy investment and you can get rewards.
4. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO AS A MANAGER
The most important thing to do as a manager is 'to care'.
If it's your customer, you care for her. Or if it's your boss, you care. It's a synergy to get people to work together.
5. TRUST
One of the biggest problems in achieving economic success was the cost involved in being unable to trust other people. For instance, sellers worry that buyers may not pay on time.
If we can trust, and trust is well-founded, then it will bring down transaction costs significantly and give a significant boost to any economy.
6. PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL
Very often managers give up performance assessment because they don't want to upset people.
However, in any business, it's a manager's job to improve performance and sometimes criticise subordinates. Ajahn Brahm suggested that managers use what he called "the sandwich method" by giving praise and pointing out a subordinate's positive qualities before identifying his weaknesses.
"When you praise someone, they will open up. Everyone likes a compliment, and it also shows that you care for them," he said. "Realise also that if a worker has a problem, it's your problem as well. When it becomes 'our problem', you will find a solution."
He cited a government department in the United Kingdom which was in the habit of measuring staff performance according to how many contracts they could get signed in Brussels [HQ of the European Commission]. A consequence was that all the department's qualified people "burned out" and left the organisation. The department later changed its system to reward officials who worked hard, or in other words, rewarded the process rather than the outcome.
Life is a process. It's how we achieve, more than what we achieve. If, this time, we're still not winning, then next time we will win. If you do it the right way, then eventually you will be rewarded. If you take short cuts or short-term profits, that's how we have ended up with - long-term recession.
Source : Monk shows correct path to business
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