DW's Blog

Human Beings Are Meaning Making Machines

by DW Green — February 1, 2017

What does your business mean?

Finding Inner Courage by Mark Nepo is an excellent book and I highly recommend reading it. In the introduction Nepo writes; “What does courage mean? How we hold this question is important. It’s interesting that the question, what does it mean? In Spanish, que quire deicer?, literally translates as, what does it want to say? The difference inherent in the Spanish view is that whatever holds meaning is alive and has its own vital authority and, therefore, demands us to be in relationship to it in order to learn its meaning. English view readies us to apprehend meaning, while Spanish view readies us to experience meaning.”Okay, interesting quote you might say, but what does it have to do with business? In a word…everything. What does your business mean? What does it mean to you? What does it mean to your stakeholders? Human beings are meaning making machines. When our relationships and our experiences are meaningful, we are confident and comfortable with our decisions, our choices and this meaningful connection enhances our overall sense of happiness and well-being.A company’s “reasons to believe” are deeply rooted in its purpose and meaning. It’s critical that a company�...

by DW Green — January 24, 2017

He’s a kook, a nut, just plum crazy!

I’ve been called a kook, a nut, crazy and a bunch of other stuff…particularly when it comes to many of my unorthodox, unconventional points of view! So it’s nice when one of my beliefs is validated by a reputable source.Monday morning I read an article in the Harvard Business Review about mindfulness…how practicing mindfulness can improve and enhance one’s ability to make better choices. I believe mindfulness is a skill that can benefit everyone and is worth pursuing. For me, mediation and or contemplation provide an access point to mindfulness.Dictionary.com defines mindfulness as “a technique in which one focuses one’s full attention only on the present, experiencing thoughts, feelings, and sensations but not judging them:The practice of mindfulness can reduce stress and physical pain. The practice of mindfulness connects us with a deeper sense of purpose and joy. We discover how to find peace during difficult times, and we learn to take inspired action from a place of heart.“One second can be the difference between achieving desired results or not. One second is all it takes to become less reactive and more in tune...

by DW Green — January 18, 2017

Stakeholders all feel the loss when a company fails.

I read in Supermarket News yesterday that “Walmart plans fivefold increase in training facilities. Walmart plans to open 160 new training academies by summer to provide training for nearly a quarter-million workers in the coming fiscal year.” Yikes! That’s impressive. And very wise!In the end it is employees who make the difference. No amount of merchandising or advertising can be successful over the long run without a dedicated, knowledgeable staff. If employees don’t support your market position or advertising claims, your efforts will be undermined.To build a company that is profitable, enduring, and able to hold its own against major competitors, managers need to foster a sense of community among employees. Above all, employees must share common values. This means recruits should be judged as much on the basis of their fit with the company’s values and principles as they are on the basis of their ability to fulfill the technical requirements of the job.People should be hired into your company with the understanding that they are there to develop their potential. You must ensure that processes are in place to assess i...

by DW Green — January 11, 2017

There is more to life than increasing its speed.

Slow It Down Man!By DW GreenSo I was reading this interesting article 12-Steps for Simplifying Your Life by Dr. Wayne Dyer. The article was about Inspiration—a state of being here and now in the material world, while at the same time reconnecting to our spiritual origins. The 9^th step in the 12 step process was “Slow Down”. I believe this idea of slowing down is HUGE. Especially in todays incredibly quick, hyper fast paced world that we live in.“Slow Down. One of Gandhi’s most illuminating observations reminds us that “there is more to life than increasing its speed.” This is great advice for simplifying your life—in fact, slow everything way down for a few moments right here and now. Slowly read these words. Slow your breathing down so that you’re aware of each inhalation and exhalation…When you’re in your car, downshift and relax. Slow down your speech, your inner thoughts, and the frantic pace of everything you do. Take more time to hear others. Notice your inclination to interrupt and get the conversation over with, and then choose to l...

by DW Green — January 4, 2017

It’s a tough neighborhood, but the scenery is great!

Nowsville is a special place in time! There is only NOW. It’s the first few days of the new year, so you have probably worked on a list of things that you’d like to get done in 2017. Drawing on the wisdom of Dr. Wayne Dyer, what if you choose to forget about making these resolutions? What if you choose to forget about deciding how you will be conducting your life months from now?For 2017, what if you choose to live in the present moment? “This day that you’re living right now is the only day you get. You can resolve to be skinny when next July rolls around, or to quit smoking next month, or to write that book you’ve been meaning to, or to embark on your overdue exercise program by the end of this year. You can go about resolving until the cows come home, and you still have to live your life just like everyone else on the planet: One day at a time. You can only live minute to minute. You can certainly use up your present moments thinking about what you’ll be doing in the future, but that doesn’t change the fact that you can only live in the now. The important question to be ask...

by DW Green — December 28, 2016

May those who work for you know, you see and respect them.

As 2016 draws to a close, I would like to thank our clients, business partners and vendors for your business and for your friendship. I’d like to thank each of you for the positive influence and impact you have had on my life and on my company. I am most grateful and appreciative of our relationships. I am honored to work with you. Thank you. To acknowledge the end of the year, it seems both fitting and proper to share this leadership blessing with you. I am inspired by Mr. Donohue’s words and read them often. For A LeaderJohn O’Donohue May you have the grace and wisdomTo act kindly, learningTo distinguish between what isPersonal and what is not.May you be hospitable to criticism.May you never put yourself at thecenter of things.May you not act from arrogance butout of service.May you work on yourself,Building up and refining the ways ofyour mind.May those who work for you knowYou see and respect them.May...

by DW Green — December 21, 2016

See things as they are.

As the Seventh Dalai Lama wrote: “All things found in the world and beyond are illusions created by one’s own concepts. Grasping at them but further distorts perception. Give up grasping and see things as they are.”Like the daily practice of meditation – the process of lessening our resistance includes surrendering, accepting, detaching, and then trusting that this moment is THE moment – bringing our awareness to the fluidity and evolutionary nature of life. The English word resist comes from the Latin word resistere, which means to stand against or oppose. When we oppose what is flowing into us, we are saying NO to the Universe. We are denying our most divine nature. We are inserting our ego into the moment instead of allowing the divine to flow through us. When we resist, we suddenly put an end to infinite possibilities. There are many lessons (and growing pains) along the journey of our life, which may contribute to the underlying challenge that makes us reluctant to trust and welcome the unknown. But we can shift that non-nourishing mindset very easily and...

by DW Green — December 14, 2016

Everything happens for you

Yesterday two things of note happened. Early in the morning I read the following quote. “Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. You don’t have to like it… it’s just easier if you do.”—Byron KatieI had never “looked” at life like that before…that things happen for you, not to you. Reflecting on that perspective, it made very good sense to me. While we have minimal control over what happens in our life, we have complete control over how we choose to respond to life’s happenings. And to realize that what happens is for me, makes my choice on how to respond much easier and more meaningful. Then later in the morning I read an email from a very dear friend who informed me that he was recently diagnosed with leukemia. I thought, wow, now how does leukemia happen for him and not to him? And sure he doesn’t have to like it, but how is it easier to accept if he does? Amazingly, here is what he wrote… “This past week I was diagnosed with a form of leukemia. Fortunately i...

by DW Green — December 7, 2016

Let your conscious be your guide

“To thine own self be true” writes William Shakespeare in Hamlet. “Let your conscious be your guide” the Blue Fairy tells Pinocchio and then asks Jiminy Cricket to serve as Pinocchio’s conscious.Integrity is an important and powerful quality. To be referred to as a person of integrity is the ultimate compliment. I have come to realize that my life experience is about the journey toward wholeness, and to seek wholeness, is to live from a place of integrity. To me, conscious is the psychic energy of awareness. Conscious is the alarm that goes off when integrity is at risk, when wholeness is splintered.“The meeting of our inner and outer lives is called integrity, and the health of our integrity often determines our inner strength and resilience in meeting the outer world. This is the purpose of integrity, to balance the outer forces of existence with the inner forces of spirit,” Mark Nepo, The Exquisite Risk. One of the most useful definitions of integrity comes from Rabbi Jonathan Omer-Man: Integrity is the ability to listen to a place inside oneself that doesn’t change, even though the life that carries it may change.So living from integrity is when our actions, our outer life ...

by DW Green — November 30, 2016

What is the commitment I am?

I’m attending an Amba Gale Leadership retreat in Seattle next week. I’ve participated in many retreats and courses with Amba over the years. I look forward to these experiences and have learned a great deal on a variety of topics. Often times they include an exercise called stand taking. What do I stand for? What is the commitment I am? (for myself, my organization, my company, my co-workers, my customers, my family, or any area of concern in my life) The power of stand taking happens when you announce out loud to others, what you stand for. I suspect blogging about one’s stands can be as powerful. Here are a few of my stands:

I stand for love and personal growth in my shared spaces.
I stand for creating a powerful, empowering, collaborative workplace based on love, mutual respect and accountability where team members are encouraged to be themselves and make a difference in their world.
I stand for creating innovative products and services that genuinely differentiate our clients in their market space…products and services that benefit their financial bottom line.
I stand for business relationships that are based on trust, mutual respec
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