In a world of AI disruption and relentless organizational uncertainty, leaders are often told that introspection and self-reflection are self-indulgent luxuries. What matters above all is execution—strategic pivots, operational excellence, driving results. You can work on yourself after the quarterly targets are met and the company’s transformation is complete!

I used to believe this. But I now think that we have it exactly backwards. More precisely: I agree that timely execution matters enormously, especially in turbulent times. Organizations must act decisively. But the quality of our action depends entirely on the quality of consciousness from which we act.

As the foundational Buddhist text the Dhammapada puts it:

“Mind precedes all mental states … If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows … if with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows.”

This ancient wisdom contains a modern management truth: The organizations we build reflect the inner states of those who build them. Buddhist philosophy calls this interdependence, the understanding that outer conditions arise from inner states. If a leader operates from anxiety, the organization feels it. If a team leads from defensiveness,

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