You Are the One the World Needs Now!
Today the world is facing a global pandemic. If you are the leader of an organization, or the founder of a new venture, you will feel an enormous amount of concern about the wellbeing of your team and your business, as well as intense pressure to wisely navigate a rapidly-changing threat-filled environment.
Inspired leaders will recognize that confusion, disruption and fear can in fact be the gateways to manifesting their own deepest vision and their company’s essential mission. They are legacy-defining moments. Crises are clarifying after all; they demand we step up to what is needed from ourselves and our organization in this moment, right now. Project plans, revenue projections, strategic analysis all go out the window, and the bracing focus of our heart-mind attention gets applied to the immediate matter.
Modern business models these days are often predicated on the perceived virtue of speed: “first to market” ... “first mover advantage” … “move fast and break things.” In times of crisis, speed also appears essential, to fend off or protect against the rapidly accumulating dangers.
Zen Mind, however, understands that the key is never speed; the key is immediacy. The Zen monk Takuan counseled the famous Japanese swordsman Musashi Miyamoto: “A mind like a spark is a state of mind where there is no gap. There is no interval for the mind to stop and linger. It is wrong to understand this only in terms of speed. It means you shouldn’t let the mind linger on things, that you shouldn't set the mind on anything, even speed.”
It’s easy to represent speed. In the real world, it looks like a Ferrari, or Usain Bolt. In a business context, it’s an aggressive project plan or that “first mover advantage”. In the tech industry, Agile methodology (which I otherwise love) is all about “sprints” and “rapid development”.
What does immediacy look like? It may not be so dramatic or sexy. It can be as simple as meeting payroll on time, perfecting a design, being conscientious about your effect on society or the planet, following up responsively on a client’s issue.
In a crisis, it may be profoundly obvious: take care of your employees, communicate with your partners, clients and suppliers; recognize where you need help -- personally and organizationally -- and seek it out.
In immediacy there is no gap, no distraction, no self-centered hedge or consideration getting in between (mediating) you and the matter at hand. No gap between you, your product or service, your company, your clients, society and the world. Can you imagine no gaps anywhere? The truth is that all the gaps are in our minds. Everything is connected; nothing is hidden.
One Zen Master in my lineage tells his students that Zen practice is not for someone who “runs from bullets.” It requires you to “face the bullets”. This image is strikingly brought to life in the movie The Matrix, in a way that dramatizes the power of immediacy.
You may recall the dramatic scene where Neo discovers his power and is finally able to overcome Agent Smith. It is only when Neo faces the bullets, instead of dodging them that he defeats him. (Dodging includes both speed and avoidance, two qualities the Zen Mind disavows!) When Neo faces the bullets, with intense concentration on the one coming directly toward his head (the immediate matter at hand), what happens? The external storm slows down and he is able to gently pick the bullet out of the air. Not only that, but all the other bullets drop to his feet!
This is the power of attending to the clear and present matter in front of you. Time slows down, the proper responses become clear, and clusters of issues resolve together.
But wait, there’s more!
Every time you take good care of the single, simple matter in front of you, you are concentrating the energies of the universe in service of your deepest intentions. When you are centered in yourself, you become the center of a larger consciousness that at the least includes your team or company, and at greater scales can include collectives such as communities, ecosystems and nations. The deepest dimensions of service can entrain planetary and universal forces.
Every company knows this and desires it in their leaders. A 2016 Bain and Co. survey of thousands of employees revealed that of 33 distinct qualities they valued in inspirational leaders, the single most important was centeredness, defined as “a state of mindfulness that enables leaders to remain calm under stress, empathize, listen deeply, and remain present.” It was the only essential quality, serving to concentrate and activate every other positive quality you possess.
When you become the center of force in this way, taking good care of the immediate matter needing your undivided attention, you unify energy in the service of a single intention. The unified energies become One, and as the center and initiator of those unified energies, you ARE the One.
In the Matrix, directly after Neo faces the bullets and they fall to his feet, Morpheus intones, “He’s the One.” When you “face the bullets” and focus on the immediate matter at hand, You are the One.
Is this easy? Can we all be Neo, the One? Actually, it is entirely within our ability to center ourselves heart and mind on the task at hand. Parents, mothers especially, have always been masters of this. They know in their deepest hearts that they are not separate from their child. One of the blessings of a crisis is that it calls forth such abilities within us all.
There is a final crucial aspect of Zen Mind that you must connect with as you lead your groups through crisis …. What is your intention? What inspires you in your work? Who or what are you serving? Who or what are you caring for and protecting? A crisis is a passage to the essential heart of your work, the essential work of your heart. If you do not know already (and hopefully you do) you will discover how important to you are your people, your mission, your clients, your security, and your bank account.
The depth of your intention, who and what you serve, will also determine the magnitude of energies enlisted by your immediate care. Selfless attention offered to your people and partners will mobilize vast forces. Missions that serve society and the planet will be supported by broader orders of allies than those dedicated to throwaway or irresponsibly-produced products.
It basically comes down to Love. What’s the Big Love that drives you? That inspires your company?
And by golly, the Matrix got this part right too! Just before Neo faces down the bullet storm, he’s lying dead on the floor, while back in the pod, Morpheus feels the hammer coming down. But Trinity is having none of the doom. She leans over him, says she’s not afraid anymore, tells him she loves him and gives him a big kiss. Only then does Neo revive and face the bullets, taking care of business and saving all sentient beings!
This crisis is a time that will define you as a leader. You are the One your world needs Now. Your ability to meet each moment with inspired and undivided attention will re-encode the DNA of your company. This blueprint will be your legacy, not only within your company but in the broader consciousness of your business ecosystem and society as whole. Nothing is hidden.
(Not to catastrophize our current situation, but keep in mind that the word “apocalypse” means “revelation”. In times of systemic transformation, our true natures are revealed. That applies to you as well as your organization.)
As a leader you are called to meet this moment with your full Zen Heart-Mind. Your Zen Heart-Mind possesses the two qualities that empower all leaders in times of crisis: a willingness to face challenges and threats directly and immediately, and love of service to others.
In Zen@Work, I call these the principles of Presence and Purpose. There are practices you can follow and inner guideposts to discover on this path. You must balance insight and compassion; self-care and care for others.
Sign up for my newsletter to learn more about these practices and principles, and send me a note if you would like to work with me one on one, or have a question I can help you with.
My deepest Purpose is to serve those who aspire to share their selfless gifts widely with the world. I would love to hear more from you.