Summary points I took away from the HBR (October 2013) article, “Entrepreneurs Feel Closer to God Than the Rest of Us Do” by Mitchell J. Neubert, HBR.

1. Question: Are faith and entrepreneurship connected? Religion and business have traditionally been considered separate domains, but they may be closer than we realize. Mitchell J. Neubert and colleagues at Baylor University wanted to see if entrepreneurs feel more closely connected to God than non-entrepreneurs. They surveyed over 1,000 U.S. adults about their religious habits.

2. What they found: Entrepreneurs prayed more frequently than other people (on average, several times a week) and were more likely to believe that God was personally responsive to them. They also tended to belong to pro-business churches. On the other measures of religion (attendance, belief in God, etc.), entrepreneurs were as religious as everyone else.

3. Why this matters: Critical to understand what drives entrepreneurs! This ties in with my belief that innovators are most inspired when they bring their entire person to their work – their beliefs and values – and not just their left brain. There is growing evidence that individuals with strong religious values are more engaged and entrepreneurial at work, and companies that welcome and foster their employees’ whole person are actually more successful than companies that do not.

4. Conclusion: Although we don’t know how exactly religion influences the way people work, it appears nonetheless to be an important source of employee enthusiasm and engagement. Research suggests that people are happier, more entrepreneurial and more successful when they can bring their spiritual side to what they do for a living. The goal, then, is for companies to find a way to tap into this spirituality in a way that includes everyone.

Your thoughts?