I have no doubt that someone will take me to task for bringing religion into the debate on purposeful mindfulness - in exactly the same way that, some years ago, a client, during a workshop, exclaimed: "I can't meditate, I'm a Roman Catholic!". In today's video, I ask whether Buddhism and Business really mix... in doing so I'm being slightly provocative but I think that I need to be - many business people that I meet think that wheeling in a Buddhist nun will enable their "human resources" lead better lives and produce better results for the business.

I need to make a few important points here but, before I do that, I need to clarify two things: I've nothing against Buddhist nuns and meditation has nothing to do with any particular religion - as I said, I'm being deliberately provocative. Now, having said that, what are these important points?

First of all, it's not all that unusual, nowadays, to come across organizations who provide yoga classes, a meditation room or have introduced some kind of mindfulness program. They believe that they are doing all the right things and, of course, in comparison to the vast majority of sweat-shops, they have. But they've only gone part of the way and, like all half-taken journeys, you can end up in the middle of nowhere. And that is what will happen if the development of mindfulness is not provided with a context. I've been on about this now for a couple of weeks but I really do need to hammer it home. With all that is currently being written about mindfulness, you could be forgiven for thinking that it is a panacea for all ills - it is but only when it is applied in context.

In business, that context is, or should be threefold: greater creativity, higher productivity and better work/life balance. Contextualized or purposeful mindfulness delivers these objectives, in spades, effortlessly - but only when the extra mile has been travelled by all concerned. That extra mile - the one that will prevent you wandering around aimlessly in the middle of nowhere - is the definition of deliberate, consciously conceived and shared purpose and purposes - hence today's Quick Tip (up top right).

If you've gone that extra mile, not only are mindfulness and business compatible - they are wonderful fellow-travellers.

Some years ago, one of our friends - we'll call her Joan - suffered a serious brain haemorrhage and was given no more than a few days to live. Within a couple of days, however, she turned the corner and began the long road to full recovery. Obviously, having faced death, she was enthused by being given what she rightly saw as a second chance.

'I'm so thankful... and one thing I know for sure, I'll never shout at my three lovely children again!" she said.

About six months later, as we wandered through our local supermarket, we heard this unholy commotion coming from the next aisle. A number of people had stopped to witness a raging mother screaming at and slapping a raucous three-year-old who wouldn't let go of a large bar of Cadbury's Dairy Milk chocolate... guess who!