The Buddhist technique has permeated blue-chips Google, Apple, Sony — and The Lancaster MBA
In the pursuit of mindfulness it helps that Peter Lenney is a Theravada Buddhist. “I was introduced to Buddhism after I’d been in industry for more than 20 years,” says Peter, who served as global business director of International Paint Marine Coatings, which supplies coating systems for ships, at the time a $500 million turnover business.“There’s no business like paint business!” reads his academic profile.
The concept of mindfulness has permeated blue-chips including Google, Apple, and Sony. It has a ludicrous number of definitions. But the one BusinessBecause finds a fit is: “Paying more attention to the present moment — to your own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around you.”
But Peter takes animated issue with the contemporary meaning. “We call that McMindfulness,” he jests. “Brand blather.”
The blending of the ethical ideals of Buddhist philosophy and business practicality is a central pillar of the Lancaster MBA. It runs throughout the program as the Mindful Manager module. “It’s the core thread of the whole MBA at Lancaster; the program pivots around it,” says Peter, the MBA program director, who developed and teaches the module.
So how does Lancaster define mindfulness?
“Tricky,” he says. “……It’s about appropriate, powerful and useful conduct. Doing the right thing at the right time in the right way with the right individual. It’s all about conduct. It’s very much focused on developing an individualized capability…. It’s about choice. And being mindful is about being capable of making difficult choices.”
Most corporations that have jumped aboard the mindfulness bandwagon, Goldman Sachs and BlackRock included, have adopted the concept as a medical application. Being “mindful” is for some employees a way of coping with stress, anxiety, depression, pain, and even addiction.
Peter says, with no hint of conformity: “Mindfulness is a Buddhist technique that has been taken hostage by the psychotherapeutic community.”
But there are more relevant applications in business — it is claimed mindfulness can promote flexibility, awareness, resilience, better decision-making, and, ultimately, job performance. This is what gets Peter amped up.
“It’s all, in a sense, about making quality judgements and decisions,” he says. “….That’s the heart of business.”
A visit from Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, the advertising giant, gives Lancaster MBAs the chance to test their judgments in real-time. “It’s a live case. They get to face up to radical changes, such as the crash in the oil price or the Arab Spring,” Peter says, adding vigorously: “They absolutely love it.”
Practical philosophy should be the foundation of all education, he claims.
The burning question, though, is does mindfulness really work? Most studies have focused on the physical and psychological benefits to employees — their well-being.
But programs have proved beneficial in more practical terms. Aetna for example partnered eMindful and the American Viniyogo Institute on a 12-week pilot scheme for around 240 employees. The company found workers gained 62 minutes per week of extra productivity — estimated to be worth $3,000 per employee each year.
Intel too has used mindfulness as a leadership practice and claims to have seen improvements in productivity and job satisfaction.
A study by UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School found mindfulness can lead to “improvements in innovative thinking [and] communication skills”.
It’s also worth noting that in these studies participants reported significant reductions in stress levels — something the World Health Organization says costs American businesses $300 billion per year.
Nonetheless, Peter senses hyperbole: “It’s massively over-hyped.”
At Lancaster, mindfulness is all about mobilizing students’ thinking. “Often they don’t understand that most of what they do is locked in habit, history, educational trajectory. They’re trapped by their history. They see it as the way the world should be. We shape that. We say no it’s not.”
Peter adds: “It opens up a whole gambit of creative possibilities.”
Student Reviews
Lancaster University Management School
An exceptional educational establishment in the North West of England.
This university has been a fantastic life experience as well as a great academic one. I first decided to go to Lancaster University Management School due to its exceptional business education facilities and have not been disappointed. I recommend the university to anybody that wants to put themselves in a strong position for a career upon graduation.
Student Ambassador
Overall, the instruction is decent, however it also depends on your department. The people are friendly, in my opinion. The sporting events are enjoyable, and there is a good sense of community. Although the city is quite remote, it is nonetheless attractive.
Lancaster University honest review
The education system in the university is excellent especially that of the Management School. The campus has great facilities for students to study and live in a relaxed manner. The students can engage in various activities through the socities.
Great opportunities to think beyond
Lancaster University provides a lot of good opportunities to think beyond.There Entrepreneurship in residence program helps students to meet and seek guidance about entrepreneurship and the challenges.Their Work in progress program help to fabricate your startup idea and further to pitch to the potential investors.Apart from that there are lot of programs like Enactus, guest lectures and guidance from seniors to help and shape your career needs.
They provide lot of opportunities to shape up your employability skills.
A top university in the UK for management science!
If you’re interested in management science studies, Lancaster University is one of the top universities in the UK. The faculty is renowned and have a sterling reputation for research in management science. Candidates specifically interested in Forecasting would find the Centre for Marketing Analytics and Forecasting especially relevant to their field. Besides, the ROI is good as the overall cost compared to other universities is less.
Great university for academia – not great for 'entrepreneurs'
Please keep in mind that my review is nuanced by my expectations of an Entrepreneurship degree :) I came to Lancaster University because it was one of the top universities to have a course in Entrepreneurship. After 4 years in this degree, my most valuable experience has been my placement and not the actual course. The course is heavily focused on impractical elements, which is a bit odd for an Entrepreneurship degree. There are some modules that involve hands-on work but the faculty support for such things has not been great. My course also involved a lot of teamwork which has been fantastic and really prepared me when it comes to dealing with the diversity of opinions. In terms of career prospects, the management school does A LOT to host events, workshops and support sessions to help you build up your employability skills. Although, I wish there was more acknowledgement of SMEs/startups as a viable career option. The entrepreneurship team which is meant to support budding businesses is really stepping up their game with tons of guest speakers, workshops and pitching opportunities. The location is a concern if you're not in STEM, Law or Accounting and Finance. Business requires networking with the broader community. However, for Lancaster students, the best bet is a trip down to Manchester or London. On the flip side, living in Lancaster is much cheaper! Overall, if the purpose of your university experience is to receive top academic education and have great facilities at your disposal, Lancaster is a great choice. But if you want to be in business and entrepreneurship, I would look elsewhere.
