I can relate to folks who have felt restricted by religious rules. Far too often the religion or faith we were raised with had endless rules but very little of the heart was made visible, and so felt dead and deadening.
Similarly in our work lives, we’ve been deadened to death (dead!) by bureaucracy, systems and rules. One of my favorite business books is by Patrick Lencioni entitled Death by Meeting which captures that feeling perfectly.
The unfortunate result is that we become resistant to systems and structures. But let me tell you a story.
In the Yoga Studio
The year before our boys arrived my wife and I attended an early morning yoga class. I’m not much of a yogi, and I don’t practice currently, but in that studio I had a startling experience, repeated many times.
I would attempt the position the teacher modeled, and I could relax into it and feel the benefit. But every so often, the teacher would come over and shift me, just slightly. Often it helped.
Occasionally I would drop into this Other State. The slight repositioning of my body put my entire system into alignment and I could feel the depth of presence in my body and my heart.
In my path of Sufism this is also reflected in what one of my teachers calls “sonic theology.” Since the prayers are in Arabic, which is one of the sacred languages, the sound of the word itself carries something profound. You pronounce the best you can, and there is benefit, so no need for perfectionism.
Yet, when you do pronounce it correctly, you can feel it through your whole body and heart and being.
It’s quite common to appreciate how our spiritual connection supports various aspects of our day-to-day lives. What isn’t appreciated as much is how structures and systems support our spiritual connection.
Spirituality is non-dual, meaning that it’s not separate from anything. When there is heart and intention present, the “rules” of a spiritual path help to develop your physical and emotional body as a container and reflection of love and truth.
Same with Business Systems
Your business systems need to work at several levels:
A. They need to help your business get things done that need to get done, extending your capability for action by multiples.
B. They need to help maintain relationships with the three spheres of your business’ ecosystem: (1) your self and anyone internal to your business, (2) clients and prospective clients, (3) colleagues and the larger network of supporters, vendors and others.
C. They need to help your heart be present with integrity in every aspect of your business. Nothing can be zombie-like, even if you aren’t physically there doing whatever your systems are doing.
This also means you need to have a judicious way of deciding when something needs to be systematized and when something deserves your personal attention.
The important thing to remember is although the most usual and visible result of a system is an action, this is not the deeper why for business systems. The actual reason a system exists is to help maintain heart-connected relationships between you and others connected to your business, as well as between your heart and the Divine.
Reflection: Where are you feeling overwhelmed trying to maintain and deepen relationships in your business? What aspects of the relationship can be systematized so that you can bring your heart and presence to the most relevant parts?
