A
acceptance
Action Plan, 142–43
benefits of, 7
Buddhist view of, 168–69
defined, 169
happiness index for, 166–67
judgment and, 167–69 “nothing lacking” practice for, 169–70
paradox of, 5–6
of present moment, 20–21
shadow side of, 144
standards and, 172–73
Achaan Cha (Thai monk), 209
achievement drive, 110
action
appropriate, 35–41
fostering, 7
influence and, 230–34
intentions aligned with, 148, 223, 226–34, 252–53
resistance to, 154–55
Action Plan
benefitting others/oneself, 217–18
change/acceptance, 142–43
confidence/questioning, 108
developing, 41–43
emotions/equanimity, 178–79
self-knowledge/self-forgetting, 58–69
action steps, 165
alignment, creating, 226–34
amygdala, 193
apologizing, 117
appearance vs. reality, 205
appreciation, voice of, 246–47
appropriate responses, 34–35
Art of Happiness at Work, The (Dalai Lama and Cutler), 194
assumptions, 158
Atlantic magazine, 248–49
attention
to blind spots, 79–81
developing, 6
to others, 117–18
in the present moment, 70–72, 73–74, 196
self-knowledge and, 65
attention training, 68–69, 72–79, 120
audits, personal, 69, 83–84, 157–62
aversion, 53–54
avoidance, 144
backward step, 35–36
Baker, Richard, 24
balance
benefitting others/oneself, 252
emotions/equanimity, 178
lives out of, 13–15
paradox and, 17–18
balance sheets, 158
Bateson, Gregory, 18
“being nobody,” practice of, 253–54
benchmarks, 165
Benefit Corporations, 240–41
benefitting oneself
Action Plan, 217–18
benefits of, 7
branding, personal, 251–54
health, 243–45
inner life, 245–48
benefitting others
Action Plan, 217–18
alignment, 226–34
benefits of, 7
business practice improvements, 234–41
impact, 223–25
spheres of influence, 219–23
blame, 184, 188–89, 201–2, 232
Blessed Unrest (Hawken), 234–35
blind spots, 79–81
“board-carrying fellow” (Zen expression), 17–18
Bodhidharma (wandering Buddhist monk), 69–71, 79
body
emotions in, 202–3
focusing attention on, 75–76
body language, 116
“Brand Called You, The” (Peters), 251–52
branding, personal, 218, 251–54
breathing, 31–33, 75–76, 158, 203, 246
brokenness, 209–10
Brooks, David, 250
Brown, Ed, 213
Brush Dance (publishing company),
author as CEO of, 25–26, 99, 105, 129–32, 176, 186–87, 215–17, 219–20, 257–58
business failures of, 186–87
business strategy of, 129–32
greeting cards published by, 34, 91
growth of, 25–26
impact of, 223–24
vision of, 215–17
Buber, Martin, 45
bucket lists, 168
Buddha
on acceptance, 168–69
as effectiveness teacher, 47–50
spiritual practice of, 82–83
Buddhism
change in, 120
equanimity in, 196
Five Hindrances, 52–55
Four Noble Truths, 47–49
Four Seals, 50–52
See also Zen Buddhism
budgets, 158–60
business
assembly-line model of, 180–82
change in practices, 234–41
emotional well-being in, 179–84
Zen Buddhism and, 28–29
business leadership
acceptance vs. change in, 141–42
confidence and questioning in, 110–11
confidence in, 112–20
emotional competencies in, 183
not knowing in, 129–32
presence and listening in, 116–18
trust and speech in, 113–15
vision and inspiration in, 118–19
business plans, 142, 143, 162–65, 218, 228–29
calling, the (hero’s journey stage), 97–99
Calvert Investments, 239–40
Campbell, Joseph, 95–96
capitalism, 235–36
Care of the Soul (Moore), 132
challenges, 164–65, 176, 205–6
Action Plan, 142–43
benefits of, 7
business plan for, 162–65
in business practices, 234–41
defined, 144–45
equanimity and, 195–96
intention setting for, 149–52
orchestra conductor approach to, 142, 147–49
shadow side of, 144
in vision statements, 234
Way-seeking mind and, 143–46
See also creative gaps
Chino, Kobun, 34
Chödrön, Pema, 242
Chouinard, Yvon, 236
clarity, 52
desire for, and effectiveness, 120–21
Cohen, Leonard, 175
Collins, Jim, 110
communication, 237
competence, 92
concentration, 196
confidence
Action Plan, 108
author’s experience, 105–8
benefits of, 6
in business leadership, 112–20
defined, 109–10
developing, 111–12
faith and, 110
overconfidence, 120–21
as paradox, 5–6
questioning and, 107, 109, 110–11, 129–32
trust vs., 113
walking practice and, 122–26
Confucianism, 49
contacts, 164
conversations, 250
coping strategies, unhelpful, 155–56
creative gaps, 15–16, 143, 152–54
defined, 15
measuring distance in, 157–62, 164–65
resistance identification for, 154–56
use of term, 153–54
curiosity, 196
Cutler, Howard, 194
D
Dalio, Ray, 111
decision making
effectiveness in, 35–41
paradox and, 36
at workplace, 233–34
defensiveness, 117
Delphi, Temple of Apollo at, 9
depression, 176
development programs, 103
difficulty, 40, 50–51, 191–92, 197
disappointments, 173
Dogen (Zen teacher), 35–36, 45–46, 47, 71–72
Drucker, Peter, 34
E
ease, 196
effectiveness
in decision making, 35–41
defined, 33–35
equanimity and, 177–78
gaining of, 7
undermining of, 120–21
Eight Imprisonments, 184–89
Eileen Fisher (clothing designer), 237–39
Einstein, Albert, 87
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 9
emotional intelligence, 73, 74–75, 111
emotional reactions, 134
emotions, 158
Action Plan, 178
avoidance of, 191–92
benefits of, 7
in business world, 179–84
Eight Imprisonments, 184–89
extremes of, 189–90
inevitability of, 179–80
as paradox, 5–6
plasticity of, 186
undermining, 204
empathy, 75
listening with, 92–93
emptiness, 70–71
energy, 196
enlightenment, 127–28
premature (PME syndrome), 81–82
environmental stewardship, 236–37
equanimity
Action Plan, 178–79
benefits of, 7
in Buddhist psychology, 196
caring without, 177–78
change and, 195–96
cultivating, 197–209
defined, 195
in dehumanizing work environments, 194–95
impermanence and, 209–10
mindfulness practice and, 211–13
as paradox, 5–6
equanimity practices
challenges as opportunities, 205–6
compassion, 200
gratefulness, 198–99
joy of being, 204–5
kindness, 199
letting go, 202–4
minding the gap, 205
not expecting praise, 207
patience, 208–9
responsibility, 201–2
sympathetic joy, 200–201
unpredictability, 206–7
excitability, 155–56
excitement, 54
exercise, physical, 166, 243, 245
F
failure, fear of, 155
failures
personal, 176
faith, 110
fear, voice of, 247
feeling miserable, practice of, 191–92 Fifth Discipline, The (Senge), 109–10
finances
future, visualization of, 163–64
marital discussions about, 65–66
financial snapshot, 158–60
financial sustainability, 37, 40–41
Fisher, Eileen, 237
Five Hindrances, 52–55
See also specific truth
for-profit social entrepreneurship, 236
Four Noble Truths, 47–49
Four Seals, 50–52
freedom, 52
friends, 248–51
Game of Self, 69
Gandhi, Mohandas, 234
General Motors, 180–82
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 105
goodness, innate, 92
Good to Great (Collins), 110
group memberships, 250–51
growth, nurturing, 237–38
guides (hero’s journey stage), 99–100, 164
H
Harrison, George, 13
Harvard Business Review,183
Heart Sutra, 53
hero’s journey, 69, 95–96, 206
writing (exercise), 96–104
Hero with a Thousand Faces, The (Campbell), 95–96
Hightower, Cullen, 215
hobbies, 166
hope, voice of, 247
Housden, Roger, 227
I
identity, fixed, 88–94
See also self
illness, terminal, 105–8
impermanence, 40, 48, 51, 89–90, 209–10
imposter syndrome, 108, 135–39
In Defense of Food (Pollan), 245
influence, 230–34
insight
defined, 22
inspiration, 118–19
integration (hero’s journey stage), 101–2
intention
alignment with action, 148, 223, 226–34, 252–53
interconnections, 222–23
investments, socially responsible, 239–40
isolation, 249
J
Jordan, Michael, 135
Joshu (Zen master), 167–68
journaling, 69, 78–79, 96–104, 151–52, 197–98
embracing, 192–94
judgment, 167–69
K
Kabat-Zinn, Jon, 73
Kahneman, Daniel, 120–21
knowledge
everyday, 128
See also not knowing
koans, 55–59
L
laziness, 54, 143, 144, 170–71, 206–7
leadership, 145
See also business leadership
“left-hand column,” 115
as Brush Dance CEO, 99, 105, 129–32, 176, 186–87, 215–17, 219–20, 257–58
career of, 22–29
consulting company of, 229–30
as executive coach, 15–16, 31–33, 46
father’s death, 84–86
first koan of, 58–59
group memberships, 251
magazine interview with, 170–71
mother’s death, 105–8
as parent, 193–94
recommitment ceremony of, 172
listening
confident, 108
with empathy, 92–93
presence and, 116–18
M
Maslow, Abraham, 109
mastery, personal, 109–10
as safety net, 82
meditation practice, 116, 177, 203
meditation retreats, 103
meetings, 233
micromanaging, 147
See also attention
mindfulness practice, 116, 148, 177
for attention, 72–79
benefits of, 212
of businesspeople, 83
defined, 73
fixed identity loosened through, 91
not knowing and, 120
resistance to, 211–13
walking, 122–23
Moore, Thomas, 132
motivation, 75
mundane activities, 57
N
Nagarjuna (Indian philosopher), 123–24
New Resource Bank, 240 New York Times, 120–21, 132
Nhat Hanh, Thich, 135
nonprofit entrepreneurship, 236
“nothing lacking” practice (exercise), 143, 169–70
not knowing
as business strategy, 129–32
as intimate, 126–29
as universal condition, 128
not-to-do list, 203
NUMMI (New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc.), 181–82
O
objectivity, 51–52
obstacles, 164–65
Oda, Mayumi, 130
Old Zen Men (small group), 251
opposite perspectives (exercise), 69, 80–81, 202
others, 36
attention to, 117–18
relationships with, 248–51
outlook, developing, 6
overconfidence, 120–21
P
paradox
balance and, 17–18
of benefitting others/oneself, 252–55
of change, 231
clarity/confidence reached through embracing, 19, 121, 167–68
decision making and, 36
Five Truths as, 5–7
present-moment awareness and, 4
self-knowledge/self-forgetting as, 8–10, 79
paraphrase, 133
passivity, 144
Patagonia (clothing company), 236
perceptions, checking, 133–34
perspective(s)
opposite (exercise), 69, 80–81, 202
power of, 1–3
persuasive offerings, 218, 229–30
Peters, Tom, 251–52
picking and choosing, 167–69
pleasure, 184–86
PME syndrome, 81–82
Pollan, Michael, 245
posture, 116
power, finding (hero’s journey stage), 101–2
power, pissing away (koan), 58–59
presence, physical, 116–18
present moment
attention in, 70–72, 73–74, 196
challenge of, 258–59
paradox and, 4
problem solving
persuasive offerings, 229–30
profit-and-loss statements, 158–60
prosperity, defining, 249
Psalms, Book of, 31
purpose, statements of, 98, 228
pushing through, 156
Q
questions/questioning
Action Plan, 108
benefits of, 6
confidence and, 107, 109, 110–11, 129–32
imposter syndrome and, 137–39
not knowing and, 126–29
for oneself, 134–35
open-ended, 134
as paradox, 5–6
for self-knowledge, 63–64, 66–67
skillful, 133–35
in Zen stories, 127
R
reality vs. appearance, 205
with friends, 248–5i
with oneself, 245–48
resilience, increasing, 7
responses, appropriate, 34–35
responsibility, taking, 178, 201–2
return (hero’s journey stage), 102–4
reverence, 52
rigidity, 144
Rock, David, 185
Rose, Charlie, 111
routines, 206
S
San Francisco Zen Center, 23, 58
Savage, Roz, 149–50
SCARF (status, certainty, autonomy, relatedness, and fairness), 185
Search Inside Yourself Leadership Institute, 149, 163, 258, 259
Sekito Kisen (Zen master), 162
self, 36
nonattachment to, 88–94
primary qualities of, 92
self-actualization, 109
self-awareness, 73, 74–75, 78–79, 111–12
self-forgetting
author’s experience, 84–86, 257–58
benefits of, 6
letting go of attachment to self and, 88–94
questions required for, 66–67
self-knowledge vs., 86–87
the unknown and, 94–96
self-knowledge
Action Plan, 68–69
attention and, 65
attention training for, 72–79
author’s experience, 257–58
benefits of, 6
blind spots and, 79–81
defined, 64–65
personal audit for, 83–84
PME syndrome and, 81–82
questions required for, 63–64, 66–67
self-forgetting vs., 86–87
story and, 67–68
Zen stories about, 69–72
See also not knowing
self-regulation, 74–75
self-talk, 218
self-trust, 113–15
Senge, Peter, 109–10
Seng Ts’an, 172
Seung Sahn (Zen teacher), 105
Seventh Generation, 236–37
Social Animal, The (Brooks), 250
social media, 249
social skills, 75
Social Venture Network, 146, 251
solutions, 229–30
spaciousness, 143
speech, confident, 108, 114–15
spirituality, 36
spiritual practice, 82–83, 161, 166
standards, lowering, 172–73
Steindl-Rast, David, 170
“stepping out of character,”90
Stonyfield Farms, 236
story
entrapment in, 91
noticing, during financial assessment, 158
perspective and, 80–81
rewriting, 65
self-knowledge and, 67–68
writing (exercise), 96–104
stress, 154
stress relief, 74
success, 230–31
envisioning, 149–52
suffering, 48
support network, 177
Suzuki, Shunryu, 18–19, 212–13, 255
T
Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, 23, 24–25
teamwork, 231
thoughts, distracting, 76–77
timelines, 165
Toyota, 181–82
trials (hero’s journey stage), 100–101
true nature, expressing, 74, 75
Trungpa, Chögyam, 184
truth, objective, 51–52
truth telling, 237
“two eulogies” (exercise), 143, 149–50
U
unknown, the, 94–96
V
Vaillant, George, 248–49
vision statements, 217–18, 228, 230, 234
voices, internal, 245–48
W
Wagner, Jane, 63
“Walking” (poem; Nagarjuna), 124
“Walking with Confidence” (exercise), 125–26
Way-seeking mind, 143–46, 153, 154
Weintraub, Steve, 130
Weiss, Pamela, 34
well-being, 74
Whyte, David, 150
wisdom, voice of, 247–48
work
decision making regarding, 37–41
happiness index for, 166
“meaningful,”220
personal audit for, 161
workplace
dehumanizing, equanimity in, 194–95
healthy, 237–39
world, the, 219–23
Wu (Chinese emperor), 69–71
Y
Your Brain at Work (Rock), 185
Z
Z.B.A. Zen of Business Administration (Lesser), 257–58
Zen Buddhism
business and, 28–29
paradoxical approach of, 49–50
problem solving in, 46–47, 145
Zen expressions, 17–18
Zen stories, 45–46
appropriate responses, 34
hot and cold, 189–90
how to use, 55–56, 77–78, 119, 126–27
“I won’t say,” 118–19
“not knowing is most intimate,” 126–28
one-hundred-foot pole, 254–55
paradox in, 18
rhinoceros-horn fan, 14–15
self-knowledge, 69–72
“wash your bowl,” 55–57
“the world,”219
Zuigan, Master, 258–59