LyrArc Article Gist
David Gelles interviews heads of companies in his column for the New York Times called Corner Office. Here he talks about CEO's frquently bringing up the topic of meditation in his interviews. Gelles practices meditation and mindfulness since his college years when he spent junior year in India at Buddhist monasteries and retreats as part of the Antioch Buddhist Studies Program. He is also the author of columns in the NYT on meditation and mindfulness. 

The head of Salesforce, Marc Benioff, tells Gelles that meditation practice helps him step back and listen deeply with a beginners mind aware of the present moment. Benioff has set up meditation rooms in Salesforce Tower in San Francisco, and invites Buddhist monks to his house. 

After a skiing accident in 2004 Marc Bertolini, head of insurance company Aetna recovered using meditation practice. He setup mindfulness classes at Aetna and says this has changed the corporate culture for the better with efforts for improvement and people coming up to him with new ideas. 

Designer Eileen Fisher practices meditation and this has helped her in business as she set goals to improve factory conditions for clothing workers in China. The head of Hyatt Hotels says mindfulness is helpful in bringing empathy in relations through the practice of being in the present. He made mindfulness the key part of the company's Wellness programs. Google, Ford and McKinsey now offer meditation programs in the office. Similar trends are taking place in Europe.

When asked about a company's responsibility to society, Benioff of Salesforce says his company is part of the whole that includes society, that we are all connected and part of the one.