Increasing numbers of business people find that the key area for applying spirituality is in how employees are treated. Simple things can be very powerful, says Marc Lesser, founder of Brush Dance, as he learned to take a few minutes each day to appreciate someone, to thank them for a job well done, or just to listen to their concerns. Generosity with your time can be as important as generosity with money.

Southwest Airlines, one of the only airlines staying profitable after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Their secret? They say that people are their most important resource, and they mean it. Company policy is to treat employees like family, knowing that if they are treated well, they in turn will treat customers well. They have been named many times as one of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

Spiritually oriented materials on personal change have been used in employee training for several years at the Bank of Montreal, and Boatman’s First National Bank in Kansas City regularly provides spiritually oriented trainings for its top executive group.

Corporate Gita- an institute promoting human values, has been teaching top executives at major companies how to focus on what’s positive, instead of the problems, because our beliefs create what we experience. The Institute teachs executives how to align their company’s mission with their deeper values.

Managers and union workers of different companies attend values-based trainings offered by Corporate Gita to cultivate compassion for each other, creativity and a new intelligence of the heart.

Many corporates set up a series of weekend values-based retreat programmes with Corporate Gita for its executives and employees to unleash feelings, take risks, and be excited by change–instead of terrified of it.

This new focus led to increases in profits, productivity and product and service quality, as this affected how the company is perceived by customers and stakeholders.