Article by David Klaasen
It’s all too easy to get caught up in the complexity of work. We have to juggle vast amounts of information, interruptions and still meet our deadlines. But what about the basics? They have the power to transform your business! Are you taking enough care to avoid misunderstandings in your email? Are you acknowledging your people enough? Are you listening to what is really being said? Are you being clear enough with your team about your expectations and their purpose?
This year I just managed to get in a week of FLOW skiing in the Dolomites at the end of the season. It was a rather special week because it was also a meditation retreat. We would begin the day with meditation and balancing exercises, and after a delicious alpine breakfast we would go out on deserted, pristine slopes. Our hotel, at an altitude of 2054m, was only accessible by snowmobile and directly on a piste, so we would have some of the best slopes to ourselves for the first few hours every day. Our instructor and group leader Bruhn, was a very enlightened fellow and had a very unique approach to skiing: being in the FLOW.
Focus on the tiniest aspectsHe would get us to focus all our attention on a tiny part of our body like the big toe. This meant that we would become very aware, of how applying pressure with the big toe to the front inside of our ski boot, had an effect on the front tip of the ski and gave it more grip. As the week progressed and we explored more micro-movements and pressure points, our skiing transformed.
It was not the first time I had been on this course and I had done all the exercises before, but the interesting thing was how, when I did them again this year, I was able to integrate them at a very different level. But only if I had an open mind. “A beginners mind”. If I’d had an attitude of “I’ve done that exercise before so there is nothing new to be gained from it” I would not have progressed as much. However, while it takes humility to have a beginners mind and to focus on the basics, the results are fascinating.
If you look at anyone who has really mastered their subject or skill you will often find them revisiting the basics to fine tune and hone even greater awareness of the tiniest details. From professional footballers and musicians doing regular practice, to the most successful entrepreneurs who analyse people’s behaviour to spot the gaps in the market, there is an ultra focussed awareness. Because every time we do something with full awareness of the smallest nuance and distinction, we can begin to notice the difference that makes a difference.
Practicing Flow and Flow in PracticeWhat are the basics that you need to focus on? What skills, if you perfected them, would make the biggest difference to your business? For me it’s been a lot about Marketing and finding the simplest ways to present and implement robust HR Strategies that really drive performance without bogging managers down in bureaucracy. It’s very exciting to achieve sell-out Seminars and produce popular products like my new DVD sets, but it is also a huge stretch out of my comfort zone and into the learning zone. And that’s the point. It’s only by stretching ourselves beyond the straitjacket of what is safe and familiar that we really break through to new levels. While not overdoing it and ending up stressed or burnt out. It’s interesting to note that it’s also about identifying subtle new details in the familiar and the mundane, which may not be exciting but can still transform your skills.
The term FLOW was first coined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced “ME-high CHICK-sent-me-high-ee”). In his excellent Book ‘Flow: the psychology of optimal experience’ he discusses the need for a tension between our level of Skill and Challenge. Too much challenge with not enough skill will lead to anxiety, stress and burn out. Too much skill with not enough challenge leads to boredom, complacency and apathy. Searching for, and finding the balance between the two is all about ‘being in the Flow’.
So what do you need to practice in order to transform your business? What skills do you need to improve so you relish the challenges? And what challenges do you need to seek out to motivate you to practice? It’s not about making life more difficult, it’s about finding the optimum balance that brings deep satisfaction and fulfilment from recognising that it’s often by focussing on the little things, that great things can be achieved.
By the end of the week of Flow Skiing I was able to carve (parallel skiing on the inside edge of the skis) through the soft slushy snow at the bottom of the slopes and to make quick short-turns if I encountered larger mounds of snow. These mounds used to terrify me and ruin my day. Now they had become an interesting challenge to overcome by coordinating hundreds of micro movements (and some major ones!). By focussing on the basics I had transformed my skills. I invite you to consider how you could apply these principles to your work.
If you have any questions or comments about any of the above please contact Amanda on info@InspiredWorking.com.
Remember . . . Stay Curious!
With best regardsDavid Klaasen www.InspiredWorking.com
About the Author
We work with Owners, Directors and Senior Managers who are focused on growth, to implement their business strategy by working smarter not harder.