Retired CNN Chairman Tom Johnson openly discussed his battle with depression recently with an audience of mostly business executives and told them that companies should provide mental health insurance just as they do physical health insurance.

The importance of mental health should be obvious.  Mental health is the ultimate competitive weapon.  Mental health anchors the capacity of employees, managers and executives to think, be creative and be productive.  It's about time that corporations realized that mental health underpins their capacity to innovate and begin to act in their own best interest by supporting the treatment of their employee's mental health.