Everything I Need to Know About Leadership and Business, I Learned in the Strawberry Patch

Well, maybe not EVERYTHING – but a lot!

I belong to a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share. This means I take on some of the farmer’s risk. I pay for the promise of so many fruits and vegetables for the season. Sometimes it’s a bumper crop and sometimes bust. If s/he is a good farmer (leader/manager) with consistent methods (tools and processes), the unpredictable part of the equation is the weather (environment). There are different ways to address non-ideal weather conditions to minimize the impact on the crops. And sometimes there is only so much you can do.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in Connecticut so I took off early and went to pick up the first share of the season. Some of the crops are in bins and some we have to go out in the field to pick. Yesterday I went out in the strawberry field to pick two luscious quarts.

Here is what I noticed… There was an abundance of just ripe strawberries bursting with juice and color. There were very few that had turned past their prime. And there were a lot that were still white or early in the growing season.

Here are my learnings that translate to business and leadership:

1. When crops get what they need by way of support and resources (rich soil, water, sun, right temperatures, and weeded early and often), they thrive.

Some people thrive in certain environments and fail in others. Most people thrive when they do what they love and are good at it, and they have the right kind of coaching, support and recognition.

2. Get in early to harvest the good stuff.

There is no need to focus on what is not ripe (lack) when there is so much abundant all around if we just look. Sometimes we don’t need to look too far but pay attention to what is right under our nose. I was able to fill up two quarts only by reaching within an arm’s radius. Like life, it’s too easy to focus on what needs fixing versus leveraging what is a strength or working. Nothing and nobody is perfect.

3. Next to mature, ready crop you can have crop just at the beginning of development.

This is like people – they can be uneven in their skillset. It’s best to focus on their strengths and take time to nurture their development.

4. Be grateful for such a wonderful crop, despite all the crazy weather.

People can be unpredictable as can the business environment. Recognize what is within your control to effect and what isn’t. When the economy is strong, get in early and boldly with new products, services and ideas. Be grateful for the breaks you have as there is also some grace (or luck) involved.

5. Enjoy the process of picking and eating the harvest! Celebrate!

It’s so important to celebrate wins large and small as that energy and mindset builds on itself. I have found in my career that this is not practiced enough – pausing long enough to really enjoy the hard work and accomplishments. Enjoy the juicy, yummy parts too!

© Copyright 2016 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC. All rights Reserved.

Follow up Friday: Breakfast for Dinner?

Follow up Friday on Sunday? What?
It’s like – have you ever had breakfast food for dinner? Why do you do this? Well, I do this when:

1. I’m too tired to cook – a bowl of cereal is fine for everyone.
2. I didn’t have a chance to grocery shop and that’s all the food left in the house.
3. I have a fussy child who wouldn’t eat anything else that night. Let it go. They’ll live.
4. I’m craving those particular foods.
5. Or…just for fun!

So why am I following up on my Monday post on Sunday and Friday, like I promised? I can say:

1. I was testing you to make sure you were paying attention.
2. I was overwhelmed and didn’t get to it.
3. I forgot.
4. I reprioritized amidst the changing landscape and it just didn’t rise to the top of my list.
5.  Or… just for fun!

What do you think it is? Well, if I am honest, it’s both 3 and 4. The difference between the two reasons is: one suggests I am not in control of my action and fell asleep at the wheel. The other suggests that I made a conscious decision to act on this priority at a different time. Here is how it played out: I was two days late in getting home because of the snowstorm. I had to finish a major report for a client who needed it for a meeting we were having on Friday. I worked very long hours to get the report done Thursday night. I was exhausted and needed rest before Friday, so I called it a night. Friday was an all-day meeting - insightful and productive. I left there on a high.

As I was driving home in the late afternoon, I composed the blog post in my head. I said to myself I would squeeze in writing my blog post in between grocery shopping, going to the bank and paying my taxes, before cooking and my dinner guest arriving at my house. Well, I had no food in the house and picked up more food than I anticipated. When I got home, with my eye on the clock, I went right to making dinner. The next thing I knew I was wrapping up a late evening with my friend and suddenly remembered my blog post. I could have hopped on the computer at midnight and got it done, meeting my commitment.

The old me, would have done that – I have to meet my commitment no matter what. In the last ten years, I have worked hard on exercising mindfulness for a more balanced way of life. Instead, I decided to embrace the unexpected – which was my reflection question on Monday. The follow up question was – where can you appreciate the gifts?

Here is where I landed: Even though I was surprised at myself for not staying focused on getting the blog post done. I wasn’t going to stress myself over it. After a busy week of travel, deadlines and intense meetings, I was tired. I thought spending time recharging and relaxing in good conversation is where I needed to be. I would come back to writing when I was centered and rested and messaging from that place.

I also went back to my objective of writing on Fridays in the first place – it is several fold: first, to stay in touch with my clients and potential clients and share insights, tools and lessons learned to further their development; second, I find it an enjoyable and rewarding vehicle for my own development and self expression; third, I write twice a week for consistency and follow up. The focus of my life and work is to enable myself and others to be their best selves to have a greater impact on the world.

90% of life is showing up and following up. The intent is to follow up by the end of the week. Well, although, this week I have stretched the definition of the end of the week – I did get it done and met my objective.

The gift for me is acknowledging how far I have come in not beating myself up or unduly stressing myself when I don’t need to – keep it in perspective. It may seem like a small thing regarding this post, but this shows up in other areas. It’s about how we hold the space for ourselves in how we walk through the world – even if most of it is in our own head. Its’s about noticing the constant messages we send ourselves – doing great or more to do; having fun or need to push ourselves to do that burdensome chore. If we can exercise the positive muscle for small things, it gives us the confidence and muscle to do it when the stakes are higher.

Sometimes, amidst the busyness of life, you have to breakfast for dinner – even if it’s just for fun!
Don’t sweat the small stuff. Enjoy.

© Copyright 2016 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC All rights Reserved.

Magic Monday: Embrace the Unexpected

Tucson at sunrise this morning.

Where can you find the magic at work today?

I attended a mastermind business retreat in Tucson last week. My flight home was scheduled for yesterday. Of course all flights were cancelled because of the Blizzard that slammed the Northeastern United States this weekend. The first flight I could get home is tomorrow. I had planned to spend all day Monday and Tuesday writing a proposal for one client who needed it by close of business Tuesday, and writing a very involved report for another client who I need to get to on Wednesday. In addition, this is one of the first trips where I decided not to bring my laptop as often I use it little at jammed-packed meetings like this. I figured can answer emails on my phone. Breathe.

I have been working with myself a lot lately in finding the positive versus dwelling on negative. The weather here is gorgeous. And I met a fellow attendee who lives near me and could not get home either. She generously loaned me her laptop. I had a friend go on my home computer and send me some documents I needed…and I was able to work and be productive. Amazing how things can work out in ways we never thought possible.

I even got a rest in the hot tub and a hike in. In addition, I spent most of the day with two women I met furthering our mastermind work and having amazing connections. Thank you my friends – Dan, Jeanne and Karen!

Now, to get up at 3:30 am for a flight home to the snow. Yay!

This week’s reflection question: How can you embrace the unexpected? Where can you appreciate the gifts?

© Copyright 2016 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC All rights Reserved.

Magic Monday: Looking at What is Or What Could Be

This is the week when college kids come home for the holidays. For those who celebrate Christmas, they embark on last minute frenetic shopping or gift wrapping. For those in business, it means tying up the year as strongly as you can. For those in education, it means a deserved break from students. For those in healthcare, it can mean more emergencies – or quiet time where you can really focus on one patient at a time.

Depending upon your beliefs, practices and places of work, you might look at these last ten days of the year differently.

I always notice a different energy in the air this time of year. Some of it is because of the holidays and some of it is because we are coming to the end of a yearly cycle – an ending and a beginning. Reflecting and planning.

Generally people are either more stressed and closed or more open and curious. Even if you still have presents to wrap, many miles to travel, cookies to bake, or financial books to close, I invite you to step back, breathe, and notice what is currently working and what could be a blessing. Live into the gratitude of what you already have. Open to the question of what could be. It is in this space of positive energy that all things are possible.

This week’s reflection question: What do you notice when you step back from the task at hand and notice the positive of what is or could be?

© Copyright 2015 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC All rights Reserved.

Follow Up Friday: Exhale Fullness

Have you ever had the experience of being really full and letting out a big exhale sigh? Aaah. When you exhale through your mouth, you are working on your digestive system. It’s a detoxification breath. Usually this is an unconscious gesture. Your body is doing what it needs to, to reset itself.

Our bodies naturally tend toward equilibrium. When we don’t have enough food, it will reset it’s metabolism so you won’t starve. And when you’ve eaten too much, it will do things to try and digest the food, even when it feels overtaxed.

I had this experience this morning and I associated it with the mindfulness work we have been doing all week in this blog. I’ve been focused on abundance or have more than enough.

It’s not so much what we experience in life but the perspective and meaning we associate with an experience that shapes our reality.

I was scheduled to teach my weekly kundalini yoga class this morning at 7 am. I thought of cancelling it, but didn’t. As I hung out with my family last night feeling stuffed, I dreaded getting up to teach the class and wished I had cancelled. Here in the states, the day after Thanksgiving is one spent sleeping in after a carbohydrate overload, shopping or hanging out with loved ones visiting.
So, I was not surprised when no one came to class this morning. I could have been upset, bummed, annoyed, etc. Instead, I did my daily yoga and meditation practice to an empty room. I decided when I got home I would climb back into bed and take a nap as I had planned a day off with my daughter who was home from college and still sleeping.

As I drove home, I suddenly noticed I took a big exhale and, not only felt physically full (I hadn’t eaten yet) but felt a deep sense of how full my life was. I had cooked yesterday for my daughter, her friend, a friend of mine and her daughter. Between turkey and pie everyone fell asleep on various couches in different rooms. I stayed awake and cleaned. I was not upset that I had little help cleaning. Instead I felt a deep sense of gratitude for having a full house – and one where guests felt comfortable enough to find a couch and drop on it.

I associated my deep exhale this morning with how I have been working on reworking my conditioning to notice and appreciate how full my life is. It’s no coincidence that a contract I have been working on for three months finally closed the day before Thanksgiving. One has deep exhales when they feel full. It’s enough. I don’t need anymore.

Focusing on what we want, not what we don’t want, helps us get more of what we want.

Gratitude grows.

© Copyright 2015 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC All rights Reserved.

Shifting Your Conditioning: Flowing in Your Spiritual Domain

All week we’ve been exploring how you rewire your conditioning to better serve you in what you want to have in your life. It requires changing your thought pattern. You can release a negative thought pattern and replace it with a positive one – and sometimes you can just replace it with a positive one and the negative one automatically just falls away.

The key with this entire process is being tuned in, not tuned out of yourself. Notice what has you associating strong, positive emotions to your thoughts and moving them physically through your body.

When all domains – mental, emotional and physical are in sync, then you have, what I call, a spiritual sense of flow in your life. You are in tune, have purpose, meaning and are deeply engaged with, and loving your life. It doesn’t mean that you can’t experience a sense of spirit when things are difficult or you are in struggle. Sometimes these are the most spiritually initiating times in your life. You feel yourself through the pain. The spirit comes through with the work to rise above the challenge and persevere and carry on, even though.

Amidst life, one kind of thought rises above all others. It is like the queen of all thoughts that possesses super powers, working on layers of deeper emotions we aren’t always aware of – this is GRATITUDE. Other similar words are Thankful, appreciative. Any thought or emotion where you bless, recognize or are grateful for what you currently have, who you are or what do you do. When this permeates your entire being, then life flows peacefully within and around you, even if your environment is in crisis or chaos. It’s finding your peace within.

Today, in the United States, we celebrate our national holiday: Thanksgiving. The original intent was to sit around a dining table and feast on the harvest of the season – to share our bounty with family, friends and neighbors. This is my favorite holiday as it is about making and sharing good food. We nourish our body with food, mind with great conversation, emotions with connections, and spirit with an overall sense of vitality even if there is still pain and suffering in the world. We can all pause and say thank you for this one precious life.

Thank you for being part of this journey with me. Regardless of where you live, today I invite you to identify just one person, experience, thing you are grateful for in your life. I guarantee, it will uplift you and shed some of the toxins that are hiding out in one of your domains.

© Copyright 2015 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC All rights Reserved.

Gratitude and Pausing For The Unexpected

The other day I took the train into New York City and arrived at Grand Central Station 45 minutes early for my appointment. This gave me time to walk downstairs to use the restroom. As I hit the last step I suddenly noticed a light, gorgeous melodic sound floating through the air. I couldn’t place it’s source and thought maybe it was being pumped in from the ceiling. Then I sensed it was coming from behind a 3 foot pillar. I walked around the post and discovered a treasure – a gentleman, wearing a derby hat with a tie playing the harp. Yep, he’s the “HarpguyNYC,” Otherwise known as Eric Heger.

Harp

Like an angel from heaven. He sat there gracious, smiling and plucking away. I could have carried on, walking bruskly by like everyone around me. But I decided to stay and appreciate this wonderful gift – and to film him on my iphone. What amazed me even more is he was selling his CDs and his sign read: “Pay What You Want.” What does this mean really? Pay what you have? Pay what you think this CD is worth? Pay what you are willing to pay? Pay what you can get away with?

This man trusted he would somehow be taken care of and get what he needed. Or get what he deserved. There was no fear emanating from him. I did pick up a CD and put $20 in his case which seemed so little for this concert and attitude uplift.

A mere 10 minute pause and my energy was shifted. A twinkle below grade added a lightness to my day and sparkle in my step. And it allowed me to take an important lesson of trust from this gifted musician.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day in the United States – a day that is just about having a meal with family and friends and being grateful for what we have. It’s my favorite holiday because it is not about what you are giving or getting but about appreciating what you have with those you love and who love and appreciate you.

At a time when much of the world is in pain and chaos, let’s focus on what can help us walk through the thick of it with more grace and peace. Look around and notice the music in your life. Where do things work? Where is there flow? And be grateful. Just for Today.
Thank you for reading.

© Copyright 2012 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC All rights Reserved.