In a small mountain village, there lived a wise master named Tenzin. Every day, he worked in his small garden, and those passing by observed his worn hands moving with purpose yet a calmness that seemed to slow time itself.
One day, a young villager named Mei approached Tenzin, her face lined with worry. “Master Tenzin,” she said, “I work from dawn till dusk, yet I feel I accomplish so little. How do you manage to tend your garden so effortlessly and still find time to sit peacefully?”
Tenzin smiled gently and invited Mei to sit with him by the stream that ran alongside his garden. “Look at the water,” he said. “It flows continuously, yet it pauses in the eddies, reflecting the sky and the trees. It is in these moments of stillness that the river finds its clarity.”
Mei watched the stream, noticing how it sparkled in the sunlight, and felt a sense of calm wash over her. Tenzin continued, “Effectiveness is not being in constant motion, but in the balance of action and reflection. Like this mountain stream, we must find our moments of stillness to see clearly and move with purpose.”
From that day on, Mei began to weave moments of reflection into her daily life, finding that her work became not only more effective but also more fulfilling. And like the stream, she learned to flow with grace and clarity.
Thank you for the kind and supportive messages throughout my sabbatical these past months, it was a wonderful opportunity to balance action and reflect on new beginnings.
I wish you an abundant 2025, full of meaningful action, peaceful reflection, and new beginnings!
Regards,
Dan
“Relevant & pragmatic ideas, tools and insights to play at your best.”
For You
Have you got someone in your life who longs to be calmer, tougher in the right situations, and more resilient? Support them with a copy of “The Stoic Challenge, A Philosopher’s Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer & More Resilient”. This pragmatic resource, authored by William Irving, professor at Wright State University, unpacks centuries old stoic wisdom that is easy to apply to everyday living.
For You & Your Team
It is a new year with a fresh start.
Why is your team meeting the most effective meeting in your company?
Open your January team meeting with this question.
And if by chance you and your team do not come up with convincing reasons why it’s the best meeting in the company, ask, “If our team meeting was recognized as the best meeting in their entire company, what would we need to start or change?”
For You, Your Team & Your Business
How important is employee engagement to you?
Let us face it, too many leaders are more interested in high scores on the annual employee engagement survey than truly creating a great place to work.
Many business units fly by the seat of their pants, as few have any real idea what people would say about engagement until the engagement survey results come back. This would be like asking an executive team what the company’s yearend financial outcomes will be in October; could you imagine a board member saying, well, we will have to wait and see until the year end results are consolidated.
This would be completely unacceptable. If your senior leaders are sitting anxiously waiting to see what the engagement levels are in their business, something is terribly wrong.
If creating a great place to work is really important, and this includes being surrounded by inspired people with sky-high engagement, you must start the year with conversations about why high engagement is valuable for employees and the business. After you have come to joint agreement as to why this is important you can come to the second question which is, “What does a great place to work look like for us?” thereby constructing a collective aspiration as to the future state. All of this engagement work is then connected through expectation exchanges and shared ownership.
Stop treating your engagement survey process as a transactional give and take and start treating it like a strategic initiative and you will see positive results. Call me if you are serious about creating a great place to work environment in your organization.
People, Places & Technology
The Trillion Dollar Coach (the leadership playbook of silicon valley’s Bill Campbell) was one of the most valuable books I read over my sabbatical this past year. If you are slightly turned off by the title, consider the authors of this book, namely Eric Schmidt (former Google CEO), Jonathan Rosenberg (former Google VP and product team lead), and Alan Eagle (Google Director). It is a fabulous book, both inspiring and full of practical tips for anyone who aspires to improve themselves and those around you.
For those of you who are interested in resetting your ambitions, transitioning into a new role, or going after bold dreams this year and would like to consider executive coaching support to help accelerate your success, drop me an email or give me a call and we will discuss this. My sabbatical is now in the rearview mirror, and I look forward to supporting ambitious leaders who want profit from executive coaching – and I promise it will not cost you or your company a trillion dollars. 😉
Thought for the Day
“How much progress shall I make?” you ask.
Just as much as you try to make. Why do you wait?
Wisdom comes haphazard to no man.”
– Seneca