About The Author
Darren's Path
Originally from Chicago, Darren has lived in Japan for the last 30 years and has extensive sales and marketing experience in the APAC region. He is currently the Area Director for North Asia for Zscaler and prior held senior roles in Oracle NetSuite, Verizon, and Vodafone KK. Darren is currently Co-Chair of the Information, Communications and Technology Committee and Vice Chair of the Digital Transformation Committee at the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
The book is a powerful distillation of Darren McKellin’s journey to mindful leadership, which began 30 years ago when he moved to Japan and had to learn to navigate one of the world’s most challenging and opaque cultures, where team harmony and patience are strong virtues.
Darren was the co-founder of the Mindfulness Project at Oracle Japan, an organization of 2,000 employees, in 2017. Oracle Japan had more than 2,000 employees and, as a result, there was a full-time doctor on staff. That company doctor noticed that many employees were suffering from work-related stress, resulting in headaches, stomach pain, and other ailments. He would recommend aspirin and other medication, but more and more employees were asking for a remedy without taking any pills. The doctor contacted the HR department, which in turn decided to create a program based on Google’s “Search inside Yourself ” course.
The team set up a 5 week course including Meditation, Body Scan Meditation, Mindful Listening, Mindful Eating, Walking Meditation, Journaling and Reflection. The team interviewed the attendees and collected data and had a sizable improvement in Concentration, Productivity, Confidence, Energy & Relaxation. Because of my role in creating this course, I’ve led many employees down the route of mindful sales, and now I’ve written Mind Over Sales so that anyone and everyone can become mindful in their careers at any time or place.
Mind Over Sales - Overview
While there are thousands of sales books focusing upon prospecting, pipeline building and closing, very few cover the mindful and spiritual aspects of achieving success in a sales career. Mind over Sales is a one-of-its-kind book for business leaders who want to embody the principles of mindfulness to develop a more fulfilling life and a successful career.
Readers of Mind over Sales will discover the “Art of Wealth,” which clearly shows that nothing can stop you from achieving material success while leading a balanced and thoughtful life and making a positive contribution to society. They will explore Chinese classic The Art of War in a business context and learn that its most profound teaching is that the greatest generals were those who achieved their goals without even fighting.
Another of the book’s key messages is continued self-evaluation and improvement, revealing that the heart of success lies not just in working hard at your job, but in working hard on yourself while enhancing your skill set. McKellin details the difficult but necessary process of removing fear, damaging internal dialogue and toxic communication habits in order to progress. He also offers unique and practical techniques for team building and problem resolution which will make you look at workplace situations in a new light.
One scintillating example of this is a key concept in the East—that less is more, which is not common in the West. For example, on a sales call, it may be more effective to talk less so the customer can speak more. Or when faced with a crisis or a problem, almost every Western manager asks, “What action are you taking for resolution?” They don’t consider that taking no action is also an option, and may be the best way forward.
McKellin shares his own meditation practice and demonstrates the practical benefits of developing that discipline and appreciation of quiet time. In silence—which stands in contrast to our “always-wired” society—inspiration and creative answers to problems are more likely to reveal themselves. Readers are encouraged through inspiring examples to unplug and ground themselves in the present reality.
This is without a doubt a book that meets our times. These past few years, there has been a massive shift around the world toward mindfulness. Employers now seek workers who are more connected to themselves, which means that candidates demonstrating qualities of self-control, mindful awareness and emotional restraint will earn more money and climb faster.
Mind over Sales is a must-read for those seeking awareness and harmonization with the natural flow of the universe, helping them move toward effortless success.