motorcyclemeditation.com

Big presentation for a client today, the motorcycle spinning down the motorway to the venue, a steady eighty. Light midday traffic and mild summer weather, the tiny adventures of the journey decontaminating it of any thoughts of what the future may or may not hold.

At the meeting, a senior director in strange mood, maybe seeing the opportunity to impress underlings, or assert authority, or somesuch. Asking awkward questions, refusing to acknowledge progress made. The project team’s previous buoyancy slowly deflating. Suddenly in prospect, the possibility of good work being gratuitously guillotined on some extraneous managerial whim.

The crunching mood shift exactly corresponding to an occasional motorcycle occurrence, happened to me last week in fact. Cruising along, suddenly a truck starts changing lanes right in front of you. The hitherto innocuous piece of moving background, now a great lumbering monster swooping into your space. From serenity to emergency in an eyeblink.

A strange warp prevailing, your instinct being to recoil but such being the worst choice. A different response required, subtle and counterintuitive. That truck, overwhelmingly the most important thing in your life at that moment, the thing with the capability of ending it, somehow you have to treat it as if it has no importance at all. You have to break out of its spell, wrench away from its vortex, become detached. The detachment an essential prior condition for action. Which can then be taken coolly. At the end of which, situation dealt with.

At the meeting, the director’s different agenda looming across our field of vision, exactly as the truck across the motorcycle. Calling for the same responses, refusing to recoil, becoming weirdly detached, taking different action. In this case, shifting the presentation emphasis, making him seem more important, usual thing.

The anticipated effect achieved. The equilibrium of the meeting restored, the director emerging from the strange mood, everybody happy. Emergency over. Same technique as on a motorcycle, but much easier in the meeting, you have much more time, plus, you know you’ll walk out of the meeting, from the motorcycle you might not.