Origin

Vivekam (Vee-vay-kum) comes from the Sanskrit term for discernment. Discernment is an intrinsic skill within us to consciously choose our thoughts, speech, and response to any situation. 

Good discernment is the ability see and make more effective choices. Vivekam believes discernment is the differentiating edge for well-being, performance, and alignment within and across communities.  

Impact

Vivekam supports individuals and teams to more skillfully communicate and manage emotion during high-stakes, high-tension situations. 

Select high-stakes conversations include: 

• Professional transition interviews
• Performance-related discussions (e.g., compensation, promotions, contract negotiations)
• Conversations with high-profile clients experiencing dissatisfaction
• Executive and board-level presentations or discussions
• Team conflict management and resolution (e.g., delivering feedback, addressing team discontent, improving morale)

 

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Core beliefs

 

inside out

Conscious leadership starts within. Our approach starts by baselining the skill of discernment: self-awareness and self-authorship in how individuals act, lead themselves, relate with and impact others. 

 

response-ability 

To discern well is the ability to see choices and tradeoffs. It is the right and responsibility to choose your thoughts and your response to any situation.

 

we become what we practice (and we are always practicing something)

Shifting a habit requires awareness. Sustaining the change requires embodiment. We define embodiment as the lived experience of how new habits feel in our bodies and impact others. Re-wiring toward new habits requires curiosity about long-held beliefs and management practices, committing to shift, and, practice and patience.

 

Approach

home base

Development is most effective when it builds upon a central framework or a home base. Vivekam's home base is The New ROI.™️, a set of skills & practice to increase how skillfully we respond to high-stakes situations. Individuals can more easily access and integrate learning when guidance, exercises, and experiences are linked to the home base.

 

 

purposeful + playful experimentation

Vivekam takes a lab-like approach built on decades of habit change research. We take a surgical approach to identify root cause behaviors or beliefs that limit performance. Our approach preferences experiential and iterative learning over concepts and models. The approach tests and observes the impact of interventions on a weekly basis. We believe data that is observed from one’s direct experience can be as powerful as RCTs as a catalyst for change.

 

whole-bodied intelligence

Multimodal methods connect the body, brain, and behavior. Vivekam's approach draws upon left-brain management practices and frameworks, adult development theory, & neuroscience research. It also draws upon right-brain activations through breathwork, movement, expressive arts, and contemplative practices.