If you are at all like me, you have your favorite things to hate.  I’m talking about those pet peeves you can intellectually let go of but, for some visceral reason, you choose to hold on to them. No one is judging!

Mine continues to be that person in the left lane of traffic who has appointed themselves constable for the day and wants to protect us from ourselves, or interprets everything literally, so 55 means 55 even if everyone is moving smoothly at 70 or the worst…feels powerless elsewhere in their lives and decides that the highway is where they will exert their influence on the parade forming in their rear-view mirror.  Hasn’t anyone taught them to stay right unless they want to pass?  Haven’t they learned in a lifetime of driving that slower traffic is required to move to the right so the flow of traffic can continue?

Whether there is literally a law or not is beside the point.  It got me thinking about the blockers in every organization that stand between you and getting things done.  Every organization has them and without a culture of self-examination, of continuous improvement, of mindful awareness you may never discover the blocker is you.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way (figuratively) brings me to the important topic of leadership.  What is it?  How do we cultivate it? What role does it have in ensuring the sustainability of our family businesses?  What are you doing to fill the pipeline today with the leadership needed to compete tomorrow?

It’s fool’s errand to pretend I have THE answers but rather consider the importance of contemplating the answer yourself.  I intend no disrespect.  Instead, I’m introducing the notion of being mindful. The reflective power of mindfulness is being rediscovered in companies across the world.  Goldman Sachs has introduced classes in meditation.  Tai Chi, a formidable martial art, has been called “moving meditation” by many.  For someone like myself, who finds meditation in stillness a challenge, it is the perfect marriage of focus, intention and emptiness.  Not trying to be Eastern here but sharing what Harvard Business School and others have found is true.  The doorway to greater creativity in solving complex problems is through being still, being present, developing a discipline of focus and committing to continuous improvement.