Business Today Net Special

Spirituality Inc.

By Angana Bharali

Warhol meets Confucius could well be the theme of dotcom Jobsahead's meditation (that's right, meditation) room: walls painted red, an absence of the usual furniture one is likely to encounter in an office, and a few bean bags scattered around in an organised mess. The med-room, as the company's Chief Operating Officer, Alok Mittal says, has its uses: "It is not just a question of spirituality but of creativity. Channelising emotional stress into creative stress helps employees move up the value chain." If you think that sounds like the sort of comment executives normally reserved for flavour-of-the-month management techniques, you have every reason to. Corporate India's spirituality-routine is fairly new. But it's catching on fast.

In demand are people like Lane Wagger, a grey-haired 51-year-old American who heads the Corporate Development Programme of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (what's good for The Beatles can't be bad for corporates). Wagger claims to be able to help people internalise their mind and emotions. That is honey to the ears of harried executives tired of looking at financial statements tinged a deeper shade of pink. "Knowledge and productivity are different in the different layers of consciousness," says Wagger.

If new-age avatars of yesterday's babas or the organisations they founded are rushing to provide the spiritual services companies need, a few consulting firms aren't far behind. Eicher Consultancy Services' last Transformational Leadership workshop---a three-day retreat that included early-morning meditation sessions in Dharamshala, a town at the foothills of the Himalayas---was attended by the likes of Vijay Crishna of Godrej-GE, Arun Jain of Polaris, Anu Aga of Thermax, and Nick Hutchinson of Monsanto.

That the corporate-spirituality boom has come a mere 10 years after liberalisation surprises people like Dinesh Chandra, a US-based quality consultant who conducts workshops in transformational leadership: "In the west it is understandable that people have grown tired of materialism, but it is surprising that this is happening in India where every one still wants a bigger car or a better house." Still, increasing work-pressure, and 90 hour work-weeks---things that come with a free-market approach---do force executives to look for anchors. For some executives in the fast track, this could be an obsession with the body beautiful---long work-out sessions in the morning, and a game or two of squash after work. For others, it could be a born-again spirituality streak. Avers Anil Sachdev, CEO, ECS: "You'll encounter this new-found spirituality among the more successful executives who are burning the candle at both ends, and looking for a more meaningful life."

Companies realise this. Which could explain why JK Industries, Hero Honda, and Xerox ModiCorp are bullish on spirituality. At JK Tyres executives who wish to can begin their day by meditating for 20 minutes on company time; at Hero Honda workers at the company's manufacturing facilities at Gurgaon and Daruhera start their day with a prayer and 10 minutes of meditation; and at ECS employees stand in a circle and one of them reads out an extract from a religious book of his or her choice. "A pre-occupation with the top line and the bottom line tends to get obsessive. A spiritual bent of mind helps us develop a holistic and humane view."

But altruism, or a desire to help employees become better human beings is only part (and a small one at that) of it. Spirituality, companies hope, will be a productivity-enhancer. Consultants cite two studies---one conducted by McKinsey & Co., Australia, and another by the University of Chicago---to show the positive impact of the use of spiritual-techniques (like Transcendental Meditation) on productivity. The best way to a corporation's soul seems to be through its bottom line.

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