GREAT 4 IDEA: Add Spirituality to Your Business Life

Peter Oppermann studied mechanical engineering in Germany, but was always drawn to the arts, design, and Eastern philosophy. He moved to New York to marry a yoga teacher and started teaching yoga, but when the marriage ended, he followed his passion to create simple, elegant designs.

Today, he owns Shoji Living, a company that designs and manufactures Japanese-style sliding doors out of sustainable materials.

Oppermann said he's been inspired by The Diamond Cutter, a book written by Michael Roach, a Buddhist monk turned millionaire businessman. In fact, Oppermann teaches classes in “Karmic management,” based on the book's principles, to ex-convicts learning new skills at the Osborne Association's Green Career Center in the South Bronx. (For more on hiring ex-cons, see Great Idea #145.)

Integrating his spiritual and work life is a top priority for Oppermann. In 2010, he took it a step further by joining a group of spiritually minded entrepreneurs who meet monthly. Together, they explore ways to integrate spiritual practice into their business and personal lives. The group calls itself Spirit Bus and is comprised of a former hedge fund manager, a former advertising executive, and two marketing consultants.

“Being an entrepreneur can be a little lonely,” said Oppermann. “So, we get together once a month to exchange ideas, inspire, and support each other.”

Taking a more spiritual approach to business is appealing to many business owners. Rabbi David Baron, founder of Temple Shalom for the Arts in West Los Angeles, said he started writing sermons about how the Bible relates to business issues as a way to connect with more members of his congregation. He said most business owners want their companies to reflect values they cherish.

But it's tough for busy business owners to incorporate key values into their day-to-day management decisions. Yet a truly successful business relies on the behavior and ethics of its owner and employees.

For instance, if you cheat your customers, you shouldn't be surprised if your employees do, too. If you tell white lies about why you were late or missed an appointment, your employees will think it is okay if they do the same. “The more I got into [these topics], the more it resonated with businesspeople,” Baron told me. In one of his books, he asks readers to consider why God chose Moses for such an important leadership role when he was hardly management material.

“Imagine hiring a manager whose profile reads: reluctant to lead, stutters, distant, prone to long mountain-top vigils, temperamental to the point of smashing corporate mission statements, strikes out instead of speaking, settles disputes through swift violent means, and never reaches his ultimate objective.”

Pretty funny.

If you are interested in exploring how business and spirituality align, check out Michael Roach's book, The Diamond Cutter, published by Doubleday Religion. Roach recently sold his diamond business to Warren Buffett for $200 million. A book about religion and business may inspire you to reconnect with your spiritual side, even if you haven't been to a church or synagogue in years.