Companies like Google, Intel, Facebook and even the US Army have incorporated mindfulness workshops into their training programmes for the staff. According to research, mindfulness in the workplace can build teamwork, enhance creativity and communication as well as resolve conflict.
Mindfulness is also making its presence felt in the Malaysian workplace.
It is one of the core programmes offered by Enlightened Billionaire Sdn Bhd, a Pembangunan Sumber Manusia approved training provider, under the HRDF Scheme.
Founded by husband and wife team of Dr Suresh Ramasamy and Shanthi Ambalavanar, (both of whom have 37 years of corporate experience between them), the couple founded the company because of their passion for making a change in people’s lives for the better. The company is strategically based in Bangsar. The couple also does training at companies if requested.
When asked about the unique name of their company, Shanthi explains that although money is a big game changer in people’s lives, it’s not just about making money. The more important thing is to know oneself, which is where enlightenment comes in.
“If you don’t know yourself, you cannot be your authentic self,” says Shanthi (pic). “Understanding yourself is not just important for your personal growth, it also affects other aspects of your life like work for instance. It makes you a better team player, a better leader and manager.”
Mindfulness works on one of the most important characteristics of a person: their emotional intelligence or its more well known abbreviation, EQ.
For many years, people only concentrated on IQ, which measures a person’s intelligence as a standard of excellence. In 1995, Daniel Goleman’s ground breaking book Emotional Intelligence, told the world that intelligence is not enough to make someone successful. Emotional intelligence skills make an individual better understand, empathise and negotiate with other people – skills that are essential in the workplace, more so in this era of globalisation.
Emotional intelligence has been hailed by The Harvard Business Review as “a groundbreaking, paradigm-shattering idea,” and one of the most influential business of the decade.
Enlightened Billionaires has one of the top EQ specialists in the world who is based in Singapore who does the training on emotional intelligence, which is part of the mindfulness programme. Besides offering the mindfulness programme for companies, it is also offered to individuals.
Says Dr Suresh: “Mindfulness has also proven to be very successful in helping people manage stress and depression. This was proven by a major study done by Oxford University, the results which were published earlier this year.”
Personal coaching
Personal coaching is another programme that is offered both for companies and individuals. Personal coaching is defined as “a form of development in which a person called a coach supports a learner or client in achieving a personal or professional goal.”
In a corporate setting, personal coaching for workers makes them more effective and better team players, which in turn, helps the company perform better.
For individuals, it helps them achieve their personal goals by working closely with the coach who sets them targets to achieve.
Hot desk
Hot desk is another service offered by the company where a company or a person can rent a desk for a day, a week, a month or for a year. Hot desks are suitable for start-ups that need space to work and for holding meetings.
This is not a new concept, but what makes the hot desk at the Enlightened Billionaire stand out is large individual desks that are offered for rent. “Files and lockers are provided for each table so that client does not feel claustrophobic,” explains Dr Suresh. “We also provide other facilities like meeting room, fax and Internet access.”
For more information, please call 03-2202 0880 or email info@ebsb.asia
