Ellen Langer

In business, there is a tendency to seek absolutes. They can be metrics […] or prejudices, or any other accepted perspective. The leader’s main job should not be to provide a script, but to provoke the mindfulness of everyone in the company.

Ellen Langer

A lot of rules don’t exist for the manifest reason. Speed limits, for example, don’t really regulate speed. The authorities use them to pull over who they want to pull over, often for a variety of reasons. Most company rules are like that. The companies know most people are breaking the rule. Why do they keep it in the first place? So it’s there when … [ Read more ]

Ellen Langer

leaders have to recognize that everything people do makes sense from their perspective, and that everyone can provide value in the right context. Someone who seems rigid is actually someone you can count on, somebody stable. If she seems impulsive, she’s spontaneous. If he seems gullible, he also promotes trust and candor.

If you’re a leader, once you recognize this, not only do you end up … [ Read more ]

Ellen Langer on the Value of Mindfulness in Business

A pioneer in mindfulness research says that companies can promote innovation and their own rejuvenation by setting the right context.