In this issue:
Transforming Business/Developing Authenticity/ Changing Our World
Zen of Business Workshop at Hollyhock
Accomplishing More By Doing Less
Z.B.A. Zen of Business Administration
Zen In Business Workshop at Hollyhock: May 7 - 11
Please join me for a Zen of Business workshop, May 7 - 11 on beautiful Cortes Island in British Columbia, Canada. This is an experiential class that will draw from spiritual practices (meditation, mindfulness, compassion), business practices (leadership, strategy, innovation) and the world of improvisation (creativity, writing, experimentation). We will draw from ancient traditions and modern ways to develop an authentic and creative life. "To study business is to study yourself; to study yourself is to forget yourself; to forget yourself is to awaken with everyone." (Modified from a Zen Master - Buddhism was replaced with business). To register, or for more information, call Hollyhock at 800 933-6339, or visit www.hollyhock.ca.
I'm finding the world of coaching, consulting, and keynote speaking to be immensely satisfying and challenging. I'm honored to be working with people who want to make a difference and are taking steps to penetrate and transform fears and assumptions and to open to new possibilities in personal and organizational growth.
With best regards,
Marc Lesser
Accomplishing More By Doing Less
Not knowing because not looked for
But heard, half heard, in the stillness
Between two waves of the sea
Quick now, here now, always -
A condition of complete simplicity
Costing not less than everything!
T.S. Eliot
Four Quartets
How often do you feel that there is not enough time to devote to your work, family, friendships, and your life? What strategies have you developed for dealing with the pressures of responding to emails, phone calls, deadlines, and commitments? Do you find yourself on the run from one activity or one meeting to the next, often either late, unprepared, or both? Is much of your day spent "multi-tasking" -- juggling lots of activities but rarely focusing or completing any one activity?
Learning the art of welding taught me some important lessons about time and how to see and act in the world. Welding was one of the many essential skills required in the role of being in charge of the draft horse farming project at Zen Center's Green Gulch farm in northern California. The task was to plant and cultivate crops, with horses, not tractors doing the labor. We had three large Percheron draft horses, that each weighed nearly 2,000 pounds. There were several old wagons, plows, and other equipment, much of it in need of repair, strewn around the farm, that required that metal pieces be refit or reshaped through welding. My welding teacher, Harry Roberts, had been a cowboy on this farm in the 1950's long before Zen Center was in existence. He had also been trained as a Yurok Indian shaman as well as a university-trained agronomist.
Harry taught me that the secret of welding is to understand that the natural state of metals is actually liquid. What we see and work with are metals that have been frozen, as the temperature became lower. In welding, we apply heat and return metals to their original state, making them extremely easy to shape.
When Harry told me this he let out a loud laugh, and went on to explain that our lives and the way we treat time are much like this. Though our lives, and our understanding of time appear solid, the natural state of the world is quite fluid. When we pay closer attention and penetrate our usual assumptions, it is much like applying heat to metals in welding. This focus and attention allows us to see that the world is much less sold than it appears, and in this state we have the ability to shape our lives and act in a way that is much more flexible and effective than when we live in a "solid" world. We have the ability to shape our lives, instead of being dragged around by the pressures of time.
How can seeing the world as more fluid be utilized? What are the practical applications of these lessons? There are several ways to apply this view and these lessons to our work lives:
1) Investigate reality
The first step is to be brutally honest with how you spend your time. In an average work day, how much time are you actually focused and engaged? How much time do you spend in aspects of planning and prioritizing, and how much time do you spend reacting and putting out fires. How much time do you spend going against the grain of your life, instead of with the grain? Start by paying close attention. Take an inventory of how you spend your time, as well as paying attention to your attitudes and assumptions about time, accomplishment, and success.
2) Create routines that mint gold
There is a beautiful line from a poem by Hafiz, a 13th century Persian poet in which he says that we all have routines in our lives; therefore we might as well put healthy and effective routines in our lives; routines that mint gold. These routines might include regular time for planning and creativity, regular exercise, time to be part of a community, time to connect with the people we work with.
One of my routines when I was CEO of Brush Dance was to come to the office early in the morning on Sundays. I would begin by just walking around the office and the warehouse, seeing everything through fresh eyes. Then I would spend a few hours, envisioning what I wanted the business to become and create plans for how we would go there. This few hours each week had huge impact on how I utilized time during the week.
3) Take time for you
In Stephen Covey's book First Things First, he calls this activity of taking time for you -- "sharpening the saw." Without time for ourselves we become dull. Because taking care of ourselves may not appear to accomplish anything it is often the first "task" to be skipped or overlooked when we feel pressure to get things done.
I usually suggest that everyone have a meditation practice; 20 - 30 minutes each day with nothing to accomplish; that everyone have a coach; someone who can provide complete support and guidance, and that everyone be part of an active and vibrant community; a way to engage, interact, and play.
4) Communication matters: real communication, real trust, effective teamwork
A high-ranking executive from a major bank once attended a retreat for business people I was leading. He reported that nearly 90% of his time was spent "watching his back." We might scoff at this seemingly incredible waste of time, but, even in our smaller companies, how much time is wasted due to fear, lack of communication, vision or strategy that hasn't been communicated. Trust, effective teams, and good communication take lots of work and skill but pay huge dividends in both what we accomplish and in our ability to function well. Tackle the people problems by listening, by revealing yourself, by appreciating others.
5) Use the wisdom of your body
One of the most strenuous jobs I ever had was being the Tassajara summer baker - baking 120 loaves of bread each day, completely by hand. For the first several months I worked from early in the morning until the evening. My muscles were sore and I was exhausted. Halfway into the summer, my body figured out how to mix the bread. A process that had taken 30 minutes now took less than ten minutes. It seems that most of my time was spent drinking tea and talking with friends, while I was waiting for the bread to rise. The less time I spent kneading, the less effort I expended, the better the bread tasted.
I've noticed that "being in my body" makes everything go more smoothly, from running meetings, to writing, or working with clients.
6) Take time to develop systems
A time when I felt a sense of leveraging time and systems at Brush Dance was during the process of ordering writing journals. I had developed a system that allowed me to order fifty thousand journals (or more) by making four phone calls. I would order the paper, the printing, the binding, and the shipping and know that six weeks later, a truck would appear with journals. In thinking about this, I realize that I initially spent 75 - 100 hours doing the research into the details of producing journals and in creating a system.
7) Live beyond your "to do" list
Sometimes the best strategy towards accomplishing more by doing less, is to forget about accomplishing anything. Throw away your "to do" list and go dancing, watch the sunset, kiss someone you love, read poetry at work, appreciate being alive.
Z.B.A. Zen of Business Administration: How Zen Practice Can Transform Your Work and Your Life
This book, released in February 2005 by New World Library, is available at your local bookstore or on Amazon. "I love this book. It is profoundly simple. It is understandable and accessible - a profound way to integrate life and work." - Eileen Fisher, president of Eileen Fisher, Inc.
Coaching, Consulting, and Facilitation - To learn more about the services offered by ZBA Associates call me at 415 389-6228; email is mlesser@zbaassociates.com.