Chade-Meng Tan is my new hero.

Meng, as he is known, is one of Google’s original software engineers. He has won numerous awards and his academic and technical achievement records are impressive.

But what impresses me the most is his pioneering spirit in the area of bringing meditation and mindfulness practices to the workplace. Right here in the good ol’ USA – where our corporate culture has typically relegated any form of spiritual or inward reflection practice to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” category – keep your slow-paced, woo-woo, mindfulness practicing ways to yourself. We are busy busting our asses to grow our company!

Oh yes, it’s no secret that the American work ethic is steeped in a culture of hard work and self-sacrifice – workers are rewarded for overtime and they often wear stress-related illnesses like a badge of honor. 

Enter Google. What a bold and refreshing move on their part to embrace the idea of incorporating mindfulness and meditation into their work culture. Championed by Meng, who is now Google’s head of personal growth.

Meng has invested in scientific research on the benefits of meditation. In 2007, he founded Google’s “Search Inside Yourself” program, an in-house employee education program that has served as many as 500 Google employees.  The program is focused on developing workers’ emotional intelligence, providing instruction on mindful breathing and listening techniques.

The program has a keen eye on improving Google’s bottom line, teaching employees team leadership and business skills such as having difficult conversations and developing trust in teams. According to Meng, as quoted in Canadian Business Magazine, “The idea is to make the business and employees far more effective (and hopefully, more profitable) by developing emotional intelligence company-wide. ‘Spiritual wellness’ and happiness are just the unavoidable side-effects.”  (It’s a terrific article, by the way, I recommend that you check it out!)

Google now has meditation spaces and organized meditation classes. Imagine that – one of the most high-powered companies in the world, embracing a new way of working. My heart is singing!

Chade-Meng Tan is a fascinating leader of this movement. I plan to keep an eye on him – and learn from his wisdom, and his charming sense of humor. According to his personal website, Meng hopes to “see every workplace in the world become a drinking fountain for happiness and enlightenment.” I’ll drink to that!

Namaste, Meng, namaste.