For many managers to whom I talked TM evidently improved not only their sense of awareness about what had to be done and what was largely unnecessary, but also their ability to cope with excessively heavy work loads. ‘I learned to concentrate properly for the first time in my life,’ says a director of a British firm which exports printing machinery. ‘The first thing I began to notice was the lies I’d been telling myself. Then gradually I found myself becoming aware of how much I was doing during the day which was not essential; how much I was wasting my time and energy. After a few months I found I wasn’t losing my energy because of worry, as I had done before, and I began to achieve more in less time than I would ever have thought possible…
But what does TM do to the profit motive? Is there not some danger of turning oneself into a well-meaning anti-profit motivated person?
‘Nonsense’ was the reply from a senior man in one of Britain’s top management consultancies, who has been meditating for 18 months. ‘I like money, and I intend to earn a lot more of it. I was introduced to TM by an American whom I considered the most dynamic company director I’ve ever met. I went up to him after a speech he’d given one afternoon and asked him about the latest American can management technique hoping to find some secrets of his success. “Transcendental meditation,” was his reply, “that’s all you need, forget the rest.” I thought “what the hell” and tried it. Since then not only has my capacity for work increased, so has my bank balance.
This article was written by Leslie Kenton and published in Unilever magazine