What Does A Yellow Light Mean?

#SLOW DOWN.

In the late1970's television sitcom Taxi, Jim ventures over to the DMV with his buddies to take his driver's license written exam.  What ensues is one of the most memorable and humorous exchanges in sitcom history.

It's a skit that comes back to me over and over again as we are encouraged to SPEED UP in our ever changing world.  Often, we're racing from meeting to meeting, taking the next 5-minute call, banging out the next email, and responding to a text.  If you are in the business of relationships (management, leadership, fundraising, etc.) then I ask: Are we really creating "relationships" with all of this busyness?  Contrary to the popular culture, I am here to say that we are not.  We've got lots of activity, and very little depth.  

This past weekend I spent three days with 30 folks in Atlanta really slowing down and getting in touch with the present moment (as well as with each other).  It was a great reminder that relationships are built through long, slow conversations over time.  Emails and text messages don’t cut it.  Relationships blossom when we focus on the other person, and that person comes to know that we are there for them.  "Being with" someone is a lost art, and yet, it can be rediscovered. 

I'm fond of Stephen Covey's expression, "With people, slow is fast, and fast is slow."  When we slow down, people and the world come into focus.  It is from that place that we can see (and seize) opportunities, while being of service to others. 

I will share that I find this incredibly challenging.  My mind is often very speedy.  This week I intend to do my best to slow down.  On Friday night, I’ll be heading over to the beach with my spouse to hold her hand as the sun sets and we celebrate her birthday together.

So, go for that walk.  Get out of the office and have lunch with someone.  Chew and taste your food before swallowing.  Sit with a colleague and tell him or her what you really appreciate about them.  Be curious.  Ask heartfelt questions.  Breathe. And, when you are tempted to bounce off the walls like ricochet rabbit, remember to ask: 

Whaaaatttt…..Doessss…..AAAAAAA…..Yelllllllowwww…..Lighhhtttt…..Meeeannnn??????

Chopping Wood and Toting Water

There is a Zen saying, "Before enlightenment chop wood and tote water; after enlightenment chop wood and tote water."  Of course, this refers to a time (not too long ago) prior to household internal plumbing and heat.  Then, as now, life and work appears to consist of a litany of routine and mundane tasks.


In fundraising there are certain activities that we must do in order to accomplish our goals.  For example, we are often required to hold a certain number of face-to-face visits with donors each month (chopping wood), and record the salient content of those conversations in a database (toting water).  Even chief development officers (enlightened fundraising masters) chop this wood and tote this water.


And yet, when we bring our full attention and awareness to whatever task is at hand the burden seems to become lighter, and the effort is more like a game that we enjoy playing.  So, in this context I ask: where in your current work do you want be more present and playful in order to lighten the burden?

The Four Essential Elements of Leadership

In Season 2, Episode 9 of the Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender, Uncle Iroh describes to his nephew (Zuko) the culture of the Four Nations as follows:

Fire--The element of power.  The people of the Fire Nation have desire and will.  They also possess the energy and drive to achieve what they want.

Earth--The element of substance.  The people of the Earth Kingdom are divers and strong.  They are persistent and enduring.

Air--Air is the element of freedom.  The Air Nomads detached themselves from worldly concerns and found peace and freedom. Also, they have pretty good senses of humor.

Water--Water is the element of change.  The people of the Water Tribe are capable of adapting to many things.  They have a deep sense of community and love that holds them together.

As I watched the episode this week with my younger daughter, it occurred to me that Iroh's lesson to Zuko is a wonderful metaphor for leadership.  And, as he rightly observes: "It is the combination of the Four Elements in one person that makes the Avatar so powerful." 


So, I ask: as a leader, which of the elements have you mastered, and which require further development?

Commencement: A Beginning or Start

Now that we have mostly concluded the "Commencement Season" in education circles, it is time to pause, celebrate, and consider what is on the horizon.  

It is so easy to get stuck in the perspective that Commencement (a.k.a. "Graduation") is somehow an ending rather than a beginning.  Paradoxically it is both.  My older daughter who is moving up from middle school to high school declared that she wanted to burn all her notes from 8th grade in the fire pit so that she could ceremonially declare her passage.  I'm actually inspired by this suggestion, and looking forward to dancing with her around the campfire.

Whether you are a fundraiser in higher ed, a corporate executive, or a professional working in a non-profit, the month of June is a great time to take stock on what you've accomplished during the first six months of the calendar year.  Pause, and revisit your vision board (or annual action plan).  Where are you on track?  What is complete?  What is no longer necessary?  Where do you want to redouble your efforts?  What are you most proud of?

For me, one of the great accomplishments over the past six months was to launch www.freedomretreat.org.  It's a week-long leadership retreat this coming September for executives, managers, non-profit professionals, and business owners who want more liberation in their personal and professional lives.  While the date of the retreat is clearly on the horizon, it has been several months of satisfying work pulling it all together.  

I encourage you to block out some time this month to reflect on the first half of the year, congratulate yourself, and commence projects that will fulfill you for the remainder of 2015.