Learning is also letting go!

Letting go of Knowledge

A Zen master on the road to Edo encountered a man bent nearly double by the size of the bundle of sticks he carried on his back. “Brother,” he said, “perhaps it's time for you to discard some of your bundle, trade some pieces for food, or burn some at your roadside camp to survive the coming freeze...” “No,” said the man, “for each stick represents an idea I learned along the path from childhood. Here, the meaning of hard work,” he said turning a burled twisted limb of oak – well polished and free of bark. “This supported me through my 12th year with a broken leg,” displaying a well formed crutch of yew wood. “And this” he said, pulling a dark curve of poplar from the bundle, “is the self reliance which carried me through my wife’s illness and death. Each idea is a life truth learned in difficulty which sustains me against the scars of fortune. To discard any of them would weaken me, though I despair of being able to reach the monastery in Edo where I hoped to study with the new master, Basho – for my burden grows heavier than I can bear...”

Weak and chilled, he accepted the gift of some of the monk’s food as they settled in together to camp through the bitter night.

Came the morning, the man awakened, stretched and stood, marveling at the snow and ice outside the tent and the contrasting warmth that suffused his bones – until he noticed the substantial fire just outside. He quickly turned and discovered his worst fear – during the night to stave off the freeze, his traveling companion had built a fire of the bundle and fed it dutifully through the night to preserve the man safely into the dawn.

“Betrayal!” cried the man, reaching for the monk’s throat. The monk swiftly struck him across the shoulder with a remaining stick. “Notice the difference and the similarity in being struck by a stick or by an idea. You've been blind to the weight of your old ideas – symbolized as sticks, the burden of which made it impossible for you to learn or move any further. A fortunate thing though, because the fire which preserved us through the night also freed you of your burden…and here you stand – erect, independent, experienced and safe."

“I bid you farewell, for I have students to meet in Edo.”

Experiencing a flash of clarity, the man took up the way of Zen.

-Zen Tale
Rene Roshi
Temple of the Perennials
Weston, FL

Consider putting Basho's lesson to work...

In your personal life:

Are you laboring under the burden of an outmoded self-image? An ancient pride? Or a prison of ego?

In your family:

Does an old contention with a sibling define you in the present day or seek to pull you back into an upset of 20 years ago?

In the corporation:

Does the founder’s vision still ring true in a third generation company? Or does the life and death struggle of the past weigh you down as you confront a new reality?

As you make your way to Edo, discard your bundle and walk free…for learning is also letting go.

Genius & Taking Pains

"Genius is the infinite capacity for taking pains."

-Thomas Carlyle
Essayist, satirist, historian
1795-1881

"Y'know, I've been working on my career now for five years and I'm pretty much convinced that success is basically a matter of getting up earlier and staying later at the job..."

-Anonymous young businessman
Seat 11-B – New York to Pittsburgh – 1982

What is Excellence?

We think Excellence means extraordinary care with the details....

The trouble with excellence is that it makes the really difficult appear really easy – off handed even.

As young people see excellence in the workplace, in the media; they don't see the weeks, months, days and hours of practice, refinement and analysis required to craft a winning result... So as they find their way onto the varsity, they don't realize that the time and effort required to get to the top are going to be greater than they may have expected. (What about those “overnight success” stories? Exactly…)

The tendency is for many to settle somewhere short of excellence. They start too late, don't think it through, and don’t adopt a process to guide their practice and preparation. They decide to hang it up the night before the meeting without a rehearsal, forget to designate a teammate to wrangle the equipment. So when the time comes and the chips are down, there's a room full of people who are going through the motions together for the first time, and it shows – something short of excellence...

It's not that the winners are geniuses, smarter or just naturally better, but that they put in fifty per cent more time, beyond getting the strategy, idea, structure, words, opening, visuals, examples, materials, team, the overall look and packaging, and rehearsals to make it go right, and the logistical plan to get everyone on deck in advance of the meeting. It's that they keep going even so far as to anticipate the tough questions they might receive and the best answers they might provide... and which teammates might be called to deliver... and then they rehearse.

In your own life, start by asking what you expect to achieve this year. Build the plan, now.

In your career, consider what growth you intend to achieve, and what changes that will bring about. Start planning, now.

In your family or social life, consider whom you may serve, and what new adventures you may enjoy. Plan, now.

It’s been nearly thirty years since that flight, and I believe my seatmate was correct.

Genius. The infinite capacity for taking pains. Always.

Start now, and make it look easy.

Purpose or Profit?

"We’re going to make chairs! The best chairs in the business!"

-William Holden as McDonald Walling
“Executive Suite"
1954

It's an old movie, with a contemporary theme. The question: Is it about shareholder value, office politics and competition, or vision?

John Houseman produced a movie that laid out the component parts of a company, and the people who symbolize them – in black and white... A little stark by current standards perhaps, but so clear – the tendency of people to cave in to politics, criticism and keeping their job, while they watch the extractors of momentary profit undermine the quality in the franchise to maximize ROI. We know that story. By the time the organization bottoms out, the greedy guys are long gone and the political players are left trying to upstage the job keepers for the spotlight on the dwindling stage.

In our mind, the fundamental thing that distinguishes winning companies is the clear and simple vision of providing a unique and special service. With Purpose. With Vision. People in such companies know why they're getting up every day. They’re going to beat the competition…to be the best. To serve with distinction. Of course they'll make money. And they’ll have fun doing it!

But only because they get the sequence correct. Purpose. Vision. Process. Practice. Profit. In that order.

It was true in the days of black and white movies. It’s true today. I'm betting it'll be the same tomorrow too.

Check it out; heavy handed, moralistic, black and white, what our parents taught us – or should have. It may be exactly what's missing in a country that pays its debts by inflating the currency. It may be what's missing in a housing market that sells mortgages by the bushel instead of keeping solid investments on the books to term. It may be what's missing in investment banks and hedge funds that make their profit by high velocity trading and not on honoring the underlying growth of the securities. What's missing is noble purpose – the real sense of why we're all here. And the sense of where we're gonna go together. We’re going to make chairs.

Look around, sniff it out. Would John Houseman respect what you're doing with your career? Would William Holden line up to help you live out your purpose? A fair question. A fair test.

Start this year by getting your head straight. Why are you here? Where are you going? The destination has to be clear, along with the reason and the path. Is it worth your time, your life? Will it sustain your dedication through a career? Get it right at the start. Now.

Corporations exist to serve a unique purpose, provide a service, create a quality product, to do something better than anyone else in such a way the customer, or hundreds of thousands, would be willing to pay a premium. It takes a leader’s vision to direct all those activities and to mold processes and practices that guide the day to day activity. Done right, and continuously, it makes a profit. And the shareholders benefit in their turn.

Are you working in such a place?

Enjoy the movie, and get on with your real life.

The "F" Word

"Today's discussion is brought to you by the letter F."

Then. It was a tough neighborhood. We were tough to teach, tough to love and tough on each other. We knew the limits. We knew just how much misbehavior was acceptable, and just how much softness was tolerable. We kept each other in line.

Now. Business. Also a tough neighborhood. Nicer surface, more polish, similar awareness of tolerable speech. Some things are never said, some words never used.

Of late, the larger culture has been shifting – and the limits are drifting – expanding. We've seen more of the vernacular find its way into daily discourse. All but the "F" word. Where that's concerned, we all observe the niceties.

During the holidays, our thoughts turn to the eternal – to the disciplines, customs and philosophies that elevate the human condition. In this, of all times, we think the "F" word deserves sustained and appreciative consideration.

Forgiveness.

Try it out on yourself.

Enjoy it with your family.

Put it to work at the office.

Employ it in the community and the nation.

Consider bringing it out of retirement in human affairs.

Forgiveness is divine.

Enjoy a peaceful and soulful season! See you next year!

Editor’s note: we’re taking a few weeks off from publication. See you back here in mid-January!