The Art of Living, an educational and humanitarian movement recently joined hands with GMR Group’s social wing, Parampara Family Business Institute (PFBI), to launch a nationwide initiative called: “Family Business Dynamics – A Spiritual Perspective”.

The first programme of this joint initiative is being conducted from November 26 to November 29, 2015 at the Art of Living International Centre, Bangalore. Sri Sri Ravishankar, the founder of the Art of Living, officially launched the initiative on the occasion of Vijaya Dasami on October 22, 2015.

This programme is specially designed for families in business to offer useful and practical insights on fundamentals of family business management and the role of spirituality in the success of family business. Its prime objective is to provide business families with a framework to understand the dynamics involved in managing family owned businesses, offer insights on family governance enabling perpetuity of the family business across generations and make life a Celebration - Be in harmony with oneself, stakeholders and situations, while being an instrument of change.

During the launch Sri Sri Ravishankar spoke about the importance of Family Business to society at large. He said “In the past, people would attach their professions to their names and took pride in their family business. To nurture family business, it is important to awaken the inner self. Growth is clearly visible where there is harmony among members of the business family. Values ensure long term success. Practicing what you would want others to practice, engaging with others in the same manner that you would want others engaging with you, is the essence of values. Undertaking charity work is ingrained in family owned businesses which contributes to the development of the nation.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Prasad Kumar, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Parampara Family Business Institute and Chairman -Institution Building & Governance, GMR Group said, “Family Business has been at the very core of building the Nation’s economy. A shared sense of purpose and values of a family drive the long-term success of family owned businesses. Spirituality forms the bedrock to the continuity and renewal of such collective purpose and values within a family. Today, most of the business families face unique management challenges because of the differences in the attitude and aspirations of family members. As new generations join the family business, it is an enormous challenge to keep the family and business together. Only 13% of the family businesses survive till the 3rd generation, and 1/3 of the business families disintegrate because of generational conflicts. We are very glad to partner with The Art of Living to create awareness and make a difference to the society at large”

He further added “Parampara Family Business Institute (PFBI), creates value through thought leadership, research and entrepreneurial development in family business, to enable them to sustain, grow and perpetuate through generations.”

Speaking at the launch, Cmde. Sarvotham Rao, Chairman, Vyakti Vikas Kendra India (VVKI), Art of Living said “ We need to learn marketing from the US, precision from the Germans, teamwork from the Japanese and most importantly, human values from the Indians. It is human values like caring and sharing that connect people. A sense of belonging among family members will ensure that a family business will grow and prosper through generations.

In a family owned business, the patriarch of a family who had sown the initial seeds and stewarded the company through challenging situations, carries with him enormous wisdom. Generation Next carry with them new ideas, knowledge of new technology and new approaches. There is a need to respect and balance the knowledge of both generations. The enthusiasm of Generation Next and the wisdom of the patriarch are both required. Understanding and practicing spirituality will enable bringing together of wisdom and enthusiasm across generations and will propel the family business to growth and long term success. At an individual level practicing spirituality will bring in centeredness, clarity, sharpness of intelligence, intuition and well-being; much needed ingredients for decision-making and growth in business.

Sri Sri Ravishankar has stated “ Trust is the breath of business, ethics its limbs, to uplift the spirit its goal.” The Art of Living will bring in ancient wisdom applicable to modern times in the Family Business Dynamics program to ensure sustainability and success of the business.

GMR Group has been a pioneer in social work and we are very happy to partner with Parampara Family Business Institute, a GMR Social Initiative for rolling out this programme. We are very hopeful that together we can contribute to the prosperity of the nation.”

Out of nearly 1000 companies with market capitalization greater than Rs. 300 Crore, 663 are family businesses. As they succeed, they contribute to the economy of the country because family business contributes 60% of the GDP of the country. About 56% of the top 200 Indian companies are family businesses. Family firms account for 90% of the country's industrial output and 27% of employment. Many of the large, medium and small sized companies in India are owned by families. Family firms account for 66% of all businesses around the world.

About The Art of Living:

Founded in 1981 by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, The Art of Living is an educational and humanitarian movement engaged in stress management and service initiatives. The organization operates globally in 152 countries and has touched the lives of over 370 million people.

The programs are guided by Sri Sri’s philosophy of peace: “Unless we have a stress-free mind and a violence-free society, we cannot achieve world peace.”

To help individuals get rid of stress and experience inner peace, The Art of Living offers stress-elimination programs which include breathing techniques, meditation and yoga. These programs have helped millions around the world to overcome stress, depression and violent tendencies.

The Art of Living movement has spread peace across communities through diverse humanitarian projects, including conflict resolution, disaster relief, empowerment of women, prisoner rehabilitation and education for all.

Visit www.artofliving.org for further information.

About Parampara Family Business Institute

Parampara Family Business Institute (PFBI) is a social initiative of the GMR Group.

PFBI was established as a not for profit company with the objective of benefiting Family Businesses in India through Creating awareness, education, development and adoption, to enable them to sustain, grow and perpetuate their family businesses through generations.

PFBI aims to bestow special emphasis to make a difference to Small and Medium family businesses. It will engage in thought leadership and research besides education and extend its scope in the area of entrepreneurial development in family businesses.

Visit www.pfbi.institute for more details

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