in this issue..
R Announcements and News from SiB
R A Note from SiB Co-FounderMarcello Palazzi
R Right Reality: Soft Power and Hard Power
R Report from the 2004 Women's Forum
R Corporate Ethics Discussed in the Middle East
R Scientific Study on the Neural Effects of Meditation
R Spirituality at Work: A Comparative Study
R CSR: The Difference a Decade can Make
R Theatre, Music & Dialogue in Organizational Change
R Socially Conscious Employees Effect Corporate Change
R A Moment for Meditation

Dear Spirit in Business Friends,

Open societies and free enterprise are the vehicles and engines of today’s world. Herein, each one of us can rise to become an entrepreneur, an executive, a CEO, a leader, and shape companies, organizations, people’s lives.

But to do so for lasting success - for oneself, the organization and the wider world - without exploiting people and resources near or far from us, is not easy. Relying on our willpower, ambition, intellect, competence, dominance, insight “ the conventional traits of great leaders “ may be necessary, but not sufficient.

What it also takes is to be rooted into, and draw from, our inner self, the crucible where the deeper wealth that emerges from our heart and soul is. Only from within can we develop what make us into great leaders AND good leaders: purpose, vision, values, inspiration, humanity, empathy, passion, resilience, judgment, love, and make a difference to our enterprises, our society, our future, today, tomorrow.

Spirit in Business has been founded as a global community of such leaders:

Business people who are purposeful, passionate, principled in their endeavours. Decision-makers who are committed to bringing more humanity, heart, creativity, aspiration and inspiration into business and leadership.

Individuals who dare to dream about a world and an economy that work for everyone, a more beautiful world, a fairer economy, a more creative society.

Human beings who share big, audacious goals, NOT out of greed, power or profit, but our of creativity, talents, compassion and love.

We warmly welcome you to actively join this journey.

Marcello Palazzi
SiB Co-Founder

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Scans of Monks' Brains Show Meditation Alters Structure, Functioning
by Sharon Bagley, from the Wall Street Journal, 5 Nov, 2004

Neuroscientists and Buddhist monks gathered for a five day summit this October in Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama's home in India. Their scientific study on the results of meditation on the human brain's neurosystem yielded some fascinating results, chronicled in this article by Sharon Bagley, originally published in the Wall Street Journal earlier this month. Read the article here...

CSR: The Difference a Decade can Make
By Barbara Krumsiek, taken from the Green Money Journal

This article by Barbara Krumsiek, SiB supporter and President, CEO and Vice Chairman of Calvert Group, Ltd, an investment management firm internationally acknowledged for its leadership in the field of socially responsible investing, talks about the direction social investing will be taking in the next decade. More>>

Communicasa
The Role of Theatre, Music and Dialogue in Organisational Change
by Jeroen M. Drontmann

SiB member Jeroen Drontmann, European SiB member and founder of the Dutch company HeartMatters, explores the role theater, music and dialogue can play in stimulating awareness during change projects. More >>

Socially Conscious Employees Can Effect Corporate Change
This article, from Stanford University's October 2004 News site, was referred by Patricia Neal of Heartland Institute

Stanford University faculty member Debra Meyerson calls them "tempered radicals." They are under-the-radar rebels who lead social change from within large corporations by taking advantage of "small wins."

Writing in the Fall 2004 issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review, a journal published by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Meyerson examines the successes of three tempered radicals... More >>

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A Moment for Meditation
A WisdomFlash is a Flash-animated poem, created by the folks at ConsciousOne, with harmonious visual and music elements designed to calm, center, and inspire you.

Here are two of their most recent, the first reminding us about the value of the simplest things, and the second, encouraging us to follow our bliss and trust that it will lead exactly where we need to go.

Be sure to turn on the sound in your computer, since the inspirational music is key to the WisdomFlash experience.

 

Amongst the variety of publications focusing on CSR, the UK Magazine Ethical Corporation stands out for its in-depth professional coverage of international news. If you are interested in signing up for one of their free regional online newsletters, or subscribing to their widely acclaimed print publication, please find details via this link.

One of their articles is published here, with permission, below.

Reports from the 2004 SiB Conference in Zurich
(See the Report published on our website, too, particularly the wonderful 'Testimonial' quotes from attendees)

Right Reality: Soft Power and Hard Power
by David Batstone

Executive Editor of Sojourners magazine, successful business entrepreneur, insightful journalist and professor David Batstone was a presenter and participant at the 2004 SiB conference in Zurich last month and wrote this article about what he saw happening there...

The 2004 Women's Forum
by Karen Buckley, Founder and co-Director of the Wisdom Leadership Initative and SiB Board member

The Women’s Forum: The Wisdom and Power of Women Leaders: Stories of Inspiration and Action wove together an enriching and memorable experience for the more than 100 women and men who attended this session of the 2004 SiB conference in Zurich. More >>>

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Salaam, Responsibility
by Alex Blyth, Nov 3, 2004
from Ethical Corporation Magazine, reprinted with permission

Corporate ethics discussion, along with oil, is bubbling to the surface in the Middle East...

In recent months the five star hotels of Dubai, Cairo and other Middle Eastern cities have been filling up with corporate responsibility executives from multinationals. They are arriving in ever-greater numbers from North America and from Europe, to talk about how they can fulfil the broader responsibilities that come with operating in this part of the world. Full Story

Spirituality at Work: A Comparative Perspective
by Prabhu Guptara

The following is excerpted from an article written by conference attendee and professor Prabhu Guptara, first published in the UK journal Faith in Business Quarterly. The full article will be available in an anthology of Spirit in Business writings, to be announced soon.

It is clear that New Age-type influences are the principal contributors to the current fashion for Spirituality at Work. However, we must not forget that these influences have been widespread in the West since at least the nineteenth century. Why then has that spark become a flame? In my view, because of two principal reasons.

The first reason is the progressive psychological and cultural dryness caused for the last century or so (from the 1880s in Europe and from the 1930s in the USA), when the commanding heights of intellectual and public life became captive to evolutionistic atheism. The result today is a raging but unslaked desire for meaning in an increasing number of people of all generations. More>>

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SiB ANNOUNCEMENTS

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