The Zen Executive is a pithy, portable book with common-sense ideas for aligning business practices with ancient spiritual principles—from a voice of experience.
Praise for The Zen Executive by Jim Blake
“Jim Blake offers a practical and whole-systems guide that all leaders need in order to flourish from the inside out. The Zen Executive is a pragmatic and compassionate inquiry into the inner workings that cultivate deep transformative shifts in self, community, and society.”
Ina Gjikond
Director, Executive Education and Coaching
The George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership
“It takes courage to dare to be a different kind of leader, one who blends compassion and wellbeing of others with performance and profit. Jim Blake provides the steps for those who are willing to not only lead but to change lives professionally and personally—which benefits all. The Zen Executive provides valuable information for any leader seeking an authentic and fulfilling life and career.”
Scott Shute
Former head of Mindfulness and Compassion Programs at LinkedIn
Author of The Full Body Yes
“Leaders who are integrating compassion, intuition and self-care practices into mission-driven leadership will find Jim Blake’s The Zen Executive of great value.”
Ken Druck, Ph.D.
Author of The Real Rules of Life, speaker and organizational consultant
“Spirituality in leadership? Most of us have a level of spirituality that guides us through our days but even at work? That is the perfect place to be a kinder, more thoughtful person. Jim Blake shares his vast experience as a seeker and leader in The Zen Executive. Written with understanding, humor, and genuine caring, this is a book to help entrepreneurs, teams, and anyone to live with authenticity in all areas of their world.”
Sharon Salzberg
Author of Real Happiness at Work and Real Change
“The Zen Executive is a book whose time has come. It aptly and beautifully demonstrates how integrating spiritual principles with executive leadership principles is not only possible but is critical to the fundamental health and wealth of any organization and the individuals within it. Jim Blake has written a deeply insightful, practical, and compelling guide for not only those in the executive suite, but for anyone desiring to live, work, and lead in a more thoughtful, kind, and heart-centered way, grounded in love, and with compassion as their bottom line. This is the kind of inspired leadership we need for these times.”
Michael Bernard Beckwith
Founder & CEO, Agape International Spiritual Center
Author, Life Visioning and Spiritual Liberation
Each section of The Zen Executive by Jim Blake ends with gems of wisdom
for enlightened leadership that can be put to immediate use.
Here are just a few:
Leaders looking to inspire, motivate, and stay positive about the future will benefit from Blake’s lessons on inner work to nurture a deep understanding of why and how an organization makes a difference. His gems of wisdom for using spiritual principles will boost innovation and creativity in any endeavor.
#Practices4Life with Rev. Jim Blake are practical tips for living a happier, healthier, and more peaceful life. The ultimate goal: to improve and make this life experience better for ourselves and those around us.
Jim Blake has been interviewed on radio shows and podcasts.
In addition, The Zen Executive has also been featured in several articles and newsletters.
Jim Blake is the CEO of Unity World Headquarters, where he previously served as chief information officer and vice president of operations. Unity is a spiritual nonprofit founded in 1889 in Kansas City, Missouri. It helps people of all faiths and cultures apply positive spiritual principles in their daily lives.
Blake has held numerous executive positions in the corporate world, including as Director of Customer Operations for Landis+Gyr, a global leader in the utility industry, and as Vice President of Products and Technology for Rhythm Engineering.
Blake has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Central Methodist University and a Master of Divinity from Johnnie Colemon Theological Seminary, the academic arm of the Universal Foundation for Better Living. He was ordained as a Unity minister in 2021.
“As I studied world religions and ancient teachings from around the globe, I began to see how easily their beauty and truth could be incorporated in—even function in alignment with—best business practices.”
—Jim Blake