This document discusses how cultivating mindfulness can help develop more agile minds. It defines mindfulness as paying attention to the present moment non-judgmentally. The document outlines how mindfulness enhances emotional intelligence and leadership skills. It then provides examples of mindfulness programs that were implemented with leadership teams which improved stress levels, decision-making, and creativity. Neuroscience research is also presented showing how mindfulness can rewire the brain. Overall, the document argues that mindfulness cultivates many of the soft skills that are important for agility and that integrating mindfulness practices can help organizations and individuals become more adaptive and collaborative.

1. Mindfulness:
Cultivating Agile Minds
Vishu Hegde,
Partner, PM Power Consulting
Agile India, 7th Mar 2017
D R A F T

2. Self Intro
2
IISc ADA

3. About PM Power Consulting
 10 years
 15 coaches/consultants
 40+ Customers in India
and outside
3
Training Coaching Consulting
Organizational
Excellence
Leadership
Development
Design
Thinking
Agile DevOps
Project
Management
Program
Management

4. Where Does Agility Start?
 Agility starts in the mind
 Minds of leaders
 Minds of Practitioners
 Minds of Customers
4

5. Left Brain Right Brain Game
 Description for Reviewers:
 A fun game where participants
experience their left & right brain
aspects

6. Left Brain Right Brain
 Ref: A neuroscientist’s observation of left brain and right brain action while going
through a stroke :
https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight?language=en
 How to harness both left brain & right brain?
Past &
Future
Present

7. What Makes Agile Successful?
Hard aspects
Soft aspects
10% Visible part
90% Invisible part
Practices
Ceremonies
Tools
Metrics
……….
Self-organizing
Shared vision
Motivation
Team engagement
Customer engagement
Communication
Collaboration
……….
Leading
indicators
Lagging
indicators
IQ
EQ

8. Emotional Intelligence
 Ref: http://hbr.org/2004/01/what-makes-a-leader/ar/1
The Five Components of Emotional Intelligence – Bedrock of Agile Culture
Self Regulation Self Motivation
Empathy Social skill
Self
Awareness

9. Mindfulness – Tools For EQ
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Mindfulness means paying
attention in a particular way,
on purpose,
in the present moment,
non-judgementally
- Jon Kabat-Zinn

10. Mindfulness@Work
10
Mindfulness Practices
+
Emotional Intelligence
+
Neuroscience
…. And Many More

11. Mindfulness@Work Case Studies
 13,000 employees
trained on
Mindfulness practices
 28% reduction in
stress levels
 20% improvement
in sleep quality
 1 hour per week
productivity
improvement
Feedback from 90
senior Leaders after 7
weeks of Mindfulness
practices:
 80% of leaders
reported improved
decision making
 89% reported
improved listening
1500 Mindfulness
practitioners reported
on a 10 point scale:
 2 points decrease
in stress levels
 3 points increase
in general happiness
& well-being
 2 points increase
in new ideas, mental
clarity & creativity

12. Mindfulness And Neuroscience
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Reduced brain wave
frequency (EEG);
Deep relaxation
Reduced Gray Matter in Amygdala
 Reduced fight/flight instinct
 Reduced fear, anxiety
Increased Gray Matter in Neocortex
 Higher awareness, learning
Neurotransmitters:
Dopemine (anti-depressant)
Oxytocine (love & pleasantness)
Serotonin (self-esteem & confidence
Opiates (pain killer)
…
Ref: Stanford & Berkeley university researches

13. Mind Switch Game
 Description for Reviewers:
 A game that simulates 2 processes in the mind – once in a serial way
and then in a concurrent way
 Participants experience the drop in productivity by running processes
concurrently in the mind
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14. Mind Matters –
Software Happens In Mind
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“Everything is created twice:
First in the mind and then in reality”
– Robin Sharma

15. A Mindfulness Program
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Asia Pacific Leadership
team of a large US
multinational software
company

16. Another Mindfulness Program
Global Leadership team
of a German
Semiconductor company

17. Feedback On Mindfulness Program
17

18. Feedback From Participants After 1
Month of Mindfulness Practice
 Feedback from participants on improvements (% of participants reporting
significant improvement) after 1 month of practice
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19. Mindfulness Exercise
 Description for Reviewers:
 Participants will experience a sample combination
of Mindfulness practices:
 Observe Outside – Observe Inside
 Breathwatch
 Bodyscan
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20. Mindfulness Case:
Hostile Meeting To Collaboration
 A startup company
 Three key entities:
 2 Promoters + 2 Fund Managers + 10 Investors
 Major conflict for release of second tranche of money
 Heading towards legal course of action
 A face to face meeting of all the 3 entities facilitated with
Mindfulness practices
 Turned into a very collaborative & constructive way forward
20
Promoters Fund Managers
Investors

21. Mindfulness Case:
Hostile Meeting To Collaboration
 Feedback from one of the fund managers :
“Thank you ” would be the least understated statement for the efforts that you have put and
demonstrated a “will” to find a “way” out of a situation. On behalf of everyone marked here, I wish
to extend my deepest thanks for your involvement to maneuver a difficult situation.
The way you created cohesiveness amongst everyone present was thoroughly admired. I am putting it
officially that you can add up all the members marked in this mail under your “FAN FOLLWING “.
We wish to spread across the positivity that you have imbibed within us in the meeting and try to
inculcate some thoughts in our day to day life.
 Feedback from one of the investors:
I must thank you profusely for moderating today's meeting so very well.
I liked your idea of initiating the meeting with a few minutes of meditation & introspection, something
which is a great diversion in such tricky situations
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22. Agile Values & Mindfulness
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Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
Working software over comprehensive documentation
Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
Responding to change over following a plan
Awareness
Empathy
Focus
Motivation
Empathy
Awareness
Empathy

23. Agile Principles & Mindfulness
1. Early and continuous delivery
2. Changing requirements
3. Working software
4. Working closely
5. Motivated individuals
6. Face to face conversations
7. Measures of progress
8. Sustainable pace
9. Technical excellence
10. Simplicity
11. Self organizing teams
12. Retrospectives
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24. Mindfulness  Agility
Sensing

25. Thank You
Vishu Hegde
vishu@pm-powerconsulting.com

26. Mindful Leadership Program
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In partnership with Search Inside Yourself
Leadership Institute (incubated from Google).
30+ Senior Leaders from IT companies.

27. Mindful IT Company –
Happiest Minds Technologies
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Enterprise wide
Mindfulness Transformation