The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Banyan lecture series begins

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Nov 21, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Banyan lecture series begins

Staff Reporter

CHENNAI: The phrase ‘work-life balance’ presupposes that work is not part of life, said Stacey Lawson, entrepreneur and trainer, at the first lecture in the series to be organised by the Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health (BALM).

The concept of ‘conscious business’ aims to integrate work with the full experience of life, she said, during the lecture organised on Monday at the Madras School of Social Work (MSSW).

The modern myth of businesses as purely ‘economic maximisers’ with no concern for sustainability of resource usage was crumbling. Businesses were increasingly concerned with giving back to society through such measures as corporate social responsibility, she said.

Modern companies that privilege intelligence, rational thought and logic should start making the transition to institutions that value emotional intelligence and networking on their way to becoming ‘transcendental’ by fostering the spiritual quotient and notions of service.

She told students of the Masters’ Programme in Business Administration at the MSSW to think of themselves as leaders and agents of change in the organisations they enter.

Mohini Isha of global organisation Tripura Foundation conducted the discussion. Ms. Lawson has been selected as one of the Working Women Magazine’s ‘Top 20 Women Under 30.’ The lecture series intends to strategise and plan for the social sector.

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