This has a ring of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” about it . . .
The book by Robert M. Pirsig is a story that questions our ability to get to the truth about life through pursuing answers through the rational mind only. The idea that science and philosophy are just two maps of getting there.
The author wryly commented that his book “should in no way be associated with that great body of factual information relating to orthodox Zen Buddhist practice. It’s not very factual on motorcycles either.” 😉
But I digress . . . there is a link though . . .
I was recently introduced to the idea of “Kairos”, a Greek word referring to timing and the “perfect moment when conditions are right for the accomplishment of a crucial or urgent action”.
Like the alignment of the stars or planets perhaps. Things that only happen occasionally, but are significant.
The Ancient Greeks knew a thing or two, it turns out!
Have you ever noticed how a message or communication that seems critically important just doesn’t land with your leadership, a customer or stakeholder?
It seems this is very common, and we can get frustrated and disillusioned that “they just don’t get it”.
Apparently, this is a perfectly normal experience, and we all suffer from it.
However great the message or articulation, you can’t control the conditions in which it is received.
For effective communication, both the message AND the conditions need to be right . . .
This might explain why history’s greatest communicators all believed in repetition.
It is not just what you say or how you say it – but WHEN.
The “When” is in the eye (or maybe “ear”) of the beholder.
Timing is a critical dimension of communication.
It us EQ, a very human quality, that helps us determine whether the “conditions are right” for the message to “land”.
This reinforces the need for a healthy IQ / EQ balance, which we discuss regularly.
So, consider this.
Don’t feel bad if the message doesn’t land first time. Or second time.
If it is important, you need to reframe and repeat consistently.
Just as important, using our EQ, when we sense that the “conditions are not right”, maybe leave it for another time.
Success in engaging stakeholders is as much, if not more, down to EQ than pure IQ.
Who wants to be the smartest person in the room anyway? 😉
Which brings me to this picture I took, early one morning as I walked to the station to catch a train to the bustling metropolis.
Whenever I try to take a picture of some wonderful moment. I typically miss the magic moment.
Not this time.
I took 3 pictures in rapid succession, and experienced Kairos myself.
The deer did not run off, but looked directly at me, as if to question my presence and whether I should still be in bed like the other humans. You can see that direct gaze in the picture.
Maybe the lesson is to take more action and raise the probability of success.
“You have to be in it to win it”.
Kairos . . .
It’s a little bit Zen . . .
Thanks for reading . . .