The word Zen became popular in the United States after the 1974 best seller Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig, was published. Interestingly, the book had little to do with Zen as a religious practice or motorcycle maintenance.

Wikipedia (who else?) notes that: “A number of contemporary authors have explored the relationship between Zen and a number of other disciplines, including parenting, teaching, and leadership. Leadership expert Timothy H. Warneka uses a number of Zen stories, such as “Understanding Harmony” to explain leadership strategies:

Once upon a time in ancient Japan, a young man was studying martial arts under a famous teacher. Every day the young man would practice in a courtyard along with the other students. One day, as the master watched, he could see that the other students were consistently interfering with the young man’s technique. Sensing the student’s frustration, the master approached the student and tapped him on the shoulder. “What is wrong?” inquired the teacher. “I cannot execute my technique and I do not understand why,” replied the student. “This is because you do not understand harmony. Please follow me,” said the master. Leaving the practice hall, the master and student walked a short distance into the woods until they came upon a stream. After standing silently beside the streambed [sic] for a few minutes, the master spoke. “Look at the water,” he instructed. “It does not slam into the rocks and stop out of frustration, but instead flows around them and continues down the stream. Become like the water and you will understand harmony.” Soon, the student learned to move and flow like the stream, and none of the other students could keep him from executing his techniques. [Warneka, Timothy H. (2006). Leading People the Black Belt Way: Conquering the Five Core Problems Facing Leaders Today. Asogomi Publishing International]

I would suggest that we, as inbound marketing consultants and social media managers, are like the young student, bumping into those around us with no clear idea of where we are going or how to get there. Once we get a sense of our own space in the stream and begin to find our own nature, we will be capable of something remarkable.

Until then?

We follow the follower with little harmony and no identity.

If we are incapable of defining who we are and what our business is about…how can we possibly help others do the same?

More to follow!

Inbound Marketing Zen