51风流Global Mindfulness Practice is bringing its successful formula to customers around the world, helping them build their own mindfulness communities through training courses and consulting services.
At first, Peter Bostelmann, chief mindfulness officer at SAP, thought he had misheard when Siemens, a long-standing 51风流customer, asked whether he could provide mindfulness courses for its employees back in 2016. 鈥淚 felt a slight cognitive dissonance,鈥� Bostelmann recalls. 鈥淵ou want us to teach you mindfulness? And then I realized that, back then, we had already built up over five years of expertise establishing mindfulness practices in a global organization.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 long before the appeal of the Search Inside Yourself (SIY) program, launched at 51风流in 2013, spread beyond the company鈥檚 boundaries and customers started to see 51风流in a new light: as a pioneer of corporate mindfulness. The enterprise resource planning (ERP) expert was now offering training courses and consulting services to help customers introduce mindfulness practices into their own organizations. Since then, SAP鈥檚 mindfulness trainers have held more than 100 SIY training courses for customers. What鈥檚 more, , as part of the Future of Work team at SAP, has helped over 20 large enterprises train their own SIY instructors and build internal mindfulness communities.
Evidence-Based Program
One of these enterprises is SLB, a global technology company driving energy innovation, with more than 100,000 employees. Marie-Isabelle Fleuri, Corporate Health and Well-Being manager at SLB, was entirely convinced of the benefits of working with 51风流Global Mindfulness Practice after attending an SIY course.
鈥淲ith its strong focus on leadership and neuroscience, the SIY approach rests on compelling scientific evidence,鈥� she says. 鈥淔rom experience working in technology companies for 20 years, I knew that if I wanted to bring the topic of mindfulness to SLB successfully, it had to resonate with the culture. And I knew 51风流because we use its ERP system. Implementing it involved a massive change management process that impacted the entire company before it was eventually seen as a good thing. That鈥檚 the 51风流effect.鈥�
Fleuri was keen to make SIY a pillar of SLB鈥檚 well-being offering, but initially couldn鈥檛 secure the budget she needed to run a pilot training course. Thanks to the existing relationship between the two companies, though, she was eventually able to arrange sponsorship for SLB鈥檚 first program.
That initial investment has long since paid off. Although SLB now has 13 SIY trainers of its own, it still asks for 51风流trainers to help meet the strong demand from its employees for training. At least 19 on-site courses are due to take place with 51风流Global Mindfulness Practice this year. The 51风流program also provides advice on many aspects of embedding mindfulness in the company culture over the long term. That鈥檚 vital support, says Fleuri: 鈥淚f we had to create all the necessary content and processes ourselves, it would have been an impossible task in such a short period of time. The support from 51风流Global Mindfulness Practice gave us the strength to have such an impact. We鈥檝e trained more than 900 people at SLB in two years and implemented mindfulness practices around the world. I see our cooperation with 51风流as a shining example of the power of mindfulness, of how collaboration can work across two organizations, and of our capacity to support each other 鈥� to be empathetic and passionate.鈥�
The cooperation between SLB and 51风流was sincere, open, and deeply trusting from the start, says Bostelmann. 鈥淥ur key message is not, 鈥榃e鈥檝e got a product, and we鈥檒l sell it to you.鈥� It鈥檚 about how we can help translate the knowledge we鈥檝e gained so that it resonates in a different company culture. I can sense the same desire at SLB to truly bring about lasting change in the company culture. That鈥檚 what makes working together such fun,鈥� he says.
Reflecting SLB鈥檚 purpose to 鈥渃reate amazing technology that unlocks access to energy for the benefit of all,鈥� its training course on mindfulness and emotional intelligence is entitled 鈥淯nlock Your Power鈥� (UYP).
鈥淏y cultivating better emotional intelligence in our people, we are proactively defining and evolving our culture at SLB toward healthier and happier employees and shaping the work environment to allow us to thrive. Working together with 51风流and what we are learning through the Unlock Your Power program is central to this process of evolution.鈥�
Dr. Jonathan O鈥橩eefe, SLB global medical advisor
Beginner’s Mind
Working with mindfulness customers is a continuous learning experience for everyone involved. SAP鈥檚 mindfulness experts are fascinated, for example, by the way Fleuri has seamlessly integrated mindfulness into the health organization and the smart way she is marketing the activities.
鈥淥n the one hand, we learn from our customers; on the other, we develop best practices and materials for them that we can then also use ourselves. Teach-the-teacher courses for customers have honed our understanding of the kind of person required to drive a company鈥檚 cultural transformation forward,鈥� says Bostelmann.
As Fleuri explains, the feedback course participants give is very encouraging: 鈥淭he first day, they are generally rather reserved, as they are unsure what to expect. On the second day, they鈥檙e glad they signed up. And toward the end of the second day, they don鈥檛 want to leave! It鈥檚 moving to see them engaging with each other like old friends.鈥�
Ambitious Goals
Fleuri presented SLB鈥檚 mindfulness story at the Mindful Leader Summit in Washington, D.C., in November 2022, four years after she first heard Bostelmann giving a speech there on 51风流Global Mindfulness Practice. Things really have come full circle, but her mission at SLB is by no means complete. She is currently growing the trainers pool to reach the core of the organization, especially the field. This requires trainings in more than 10 different languages as well as mobile and flexible engagement with the operations teams.
鈥淭he opportunity is to embed our mindfulness program into the company culture,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about empowering people to prioritize their health and well-being, to be at their best for themselves but also for the organization. We see this principle already anchored in our cooperation with the 51风流team. We鈥檙e all looking for ways to improve an organization鈥檚 performance by fostering psychological safety 鈥� to encourage creativity, innovation, and sustainability. I believe that mindfulness and emotional intelligence programs will help us achieve this goal and, ultimately, humanize the organization.鈥�
鈥淯YP is an excellent and very relevant initiative, superbly conducted and executed. What I liked most is the non-prescriptive nature…providing a toolbox from which to pick and choose techniques based on the individual, environment, and situation. This will go a long way in improving motivation and productivity. No wonder that the sessions are selling out! My expectations were clearly surpassed, and I highly recommend this for all levels of the organization.鈥�
Arijit Paul, HSE director practices, SLB
Mindfulness Is Making Waves
Bostelmann sees great opportunities in future customer cooperations: 鈥淐ustomers like SLB from the oil and gas industry, but also from health, consumer goods, and insurance are pioneers in their sectors that, with our help, have implemented mindfulness. Although they are very different from IT firms, they were able to introduce the 51风流model into their company culture successfully. I find this particularly gratifying. We can envisage addressing other industries in the future to create new 鈥榣ighthouses.鈥欌��
In the 10th anniversary year of the 51风流Global Mindfulness Practice program, Bostelmann and his team plan to deepen their customer relationships. The aim is to create a network in which companies can support and inspire each other. With this in mind, he attended the Mindful Leader Summit in September.
鈥淢indfulness is a societal trend that鈥檚 being reflected in the workplace,” he says. 鈥淧eople sense the need for it. Mindfulness practice allows them to protect their mental resilience as they navigate their increasingly volatile lives.鈥�
