Last week I attended the London Mindfulness Summit.  

The event, hosted by my good friend Malcolm Scovil (co-founder of Calmworks), and Belinda Raynes (partner at Forgather) explored  how companies like Google, EY (and many others) reaped the benefits of implementing mindfulness (a practice of drawing your attention to the present moment whilst acknowledging and accepting your thoughts, emotions and bodily sensations) in their organisations.

The many speakers, which included Michael Acton Smith (founder of Moshi Monsters), Dr. Tamara Russell (neuroscientist and clinical psychologist), Peter Read (Google Ventures) and his daughter Jade Read (Entrepreneur First) told us their stories.

Each journey was different, but the common message was that attaining a calm state of mind has been fundamental in allowing them to respond to external stressors with intellect to achieve not only an upsurge in happiness but also productivity and creativity.

And surely we can all benefit from a more calm and non-inhibitive emotional response to stress?

The statistics speak for themselves. In the UK alone, the estimated cost associated with lost productivity due to stress is £6.5 billion annually!

The morning allowed us to step back, to pause, take some much needed deep breaths and connected with the community that values achievements and results as well as leading a fulfilling and meaningful life.  

We listened to testimonials and case-studies from senior executives, and looked at different approaches to the practice. 

Michael Acton Smith (founder of Mind Candy and Calm), shared his own personal journey of the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur and how arriving to a state of calm has shaped him and his businesses particularly during times of rapid growth and uncertainty.

Neuroscientist Dr. Tamara Russell looked at the science behind mindfulness and explained how, when properly applied, it can increase productivity, teamwork, and resilience.

She also explained how it is generally more effective if those implementing it have an awareness of the science; indeed this was precisely the case when Google adopted some ‘contemplative practices’.

Google even have a book – Search Inside Yourself by Chade-Meng Tan. 

Rohan Narse, a former banker whose life changed when he suffered a near-death experience, shared some of his methods and stories for teaching mindfulness to CEOs and business leaders.

He was just radiating with positive energy.

And father-daughter duo Peter and Jade Read (Entrepreneur First) talked about how to develop a new generation of strong, compassionate leaders.

They reminded us that one of the main reasons why start-ups fail is because the founders simply give up.

So it is in developing their soft skills – particularly resilience and stress management that can literally change the course of the business from failure to success. 

It was an important morning for me personally where I learnt that some of my daily habits send me into an autopilot that doesn’t serve me.

To stay focused, I will try to acknowledge the distraction, accept it and re-focus on the present task.

I practiced on this blog. But it was tough to keep totally focused.

They call it a practice, so I will keep practicing.

If you’re interested in some techniques for you or your organisation, Calmworks organises events, workshops and training programmes around this subject.

Or perhaps you are already implementing mindful techniques. Perhaps you didn’t even know you were until now.

If so, I’d love to hear about how it has changed you or your organisation.