Tuesday, February 5, 2013

January 29, 2013 Updated 2/5/13

Business is a living art form. It requires the approach to be worked with rather than worked on. The creation of growth and prosperity requires the coming together of human influence and effort with the systems, processes and mechanics of business and enterprise. Therein lies the art. Thinking of business as a science leads us to compartmentalizing rather than integrating thoughts and ideas, and can easily get in the way of realizing the human capacity for innovation and creativity. Both can, at times, be very difficult. Perhaps that’s why we don’t always see the path to integrating the two.

I once heard it said, “Be a giver and you will get. Be a taker and you will be taken.” Listening is a gift. It is generous to listen well to others. I sometimes observe that someone giving too much advice may not interpret it as taking. They may believe that the giving of advice is an act of generosity. I think, at times, this is true. Yet sometimes I find myself thinking that the giver of advice may be taking away another person’s freedom to express what they think, see or feel, shut down their creativity or uniqueness, hinder their opportunity to explore, to make a mistake and learn. And I’m sure there’s more that is taken. Of all the possibilities, the one that I’m most concerned about is the taking of someone’s time. Time is precious. Perhaps it may help if you first ask if someone wants what you have to give and listen to his or her response. It’s likely they’ll reciprocate and listen in return.

Authenticity is the alignment of my behavior to my thoughts, feelings and beliefs.
As I complete writing a part of my book, I push back my chair and look out into the sunset. It’s a magnificent sight, the hues of pink, orange, and violet blending into the bright blues left by the sun as it disappears behind the Front Range of the Rockies. My sense of accomplishment is satisfying. Another piece finished and, for now – until an editor tells me I need to give it another try – the feeling of letting it go. I now realize the distinct contrast between writing a book and writing a poem or lyric for a new song. The poem or song is finished, sometimes in minutes. This book, it seems, has taken years to come to surface and is not finished until the thoughts I share are clearly communicated and easily comprehended. A poem or song is open to interpretation. Its imperfections are the perfections of its own art form. And it doesn’t typically take me as long to get the gratification from finding the end and staring out at the sunset... to make room for the next one to arrive.