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Management And Meditation

March 24, 2008 @ Project Shrink: The Blog from Bas de Baar

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I tried to get around it. I tried to avoid it. But in this case I can run, but I am surely unable to hide. So I decided to face it head on, get it out in the open. I just have to make the connection between training your mind for adaption, as suggested in earlier posts, and meditation. There, I said it. Now I probably get haunted by metric fetishist and named “Project Swami”. I will be strong.

The mental model a person has of the world determines his behavior and therefor his effectiveness within the environment. The agility of his brain affects his resilience to change. Training the brain for flexibility, learning the brain to switch assumptions, move from holistic to isolated views is something achieved by meditation. Despite the joke in the first paragraph, meditation is not a “out-of-this-world” technique. You can also look at it as an intense form of concentration and reflection.

The benefits are multiple. It helps you to be relaxed. It enables you to focus more, observe the environment without drawing instant stereotyped conclusions. When you have a clear mind, your judgment is far more effective than when you are tired and you cannot stop the chatter inside your head. My suggestion is that you take a look at meditation techniques. Start with simple breathing exercises and crank it up a notch when you feel like it.

Paul Konasewich even goes a little further in stating that the three secrets to peak performance leadership are good eating habits, proper physical condition and meditation.

Before you get all defensive on how this links to complex situations and problem solving with a team, I urge you to download my report on the use of systems thinking to analyze project problems. It outlines a technique to assess complex situations with a team. It attempts to circumvent any bias towards perceived causes by creating a holistic and open minded process.

Ahum! Be all Zen.

Now instead of my Gantt chart I will be using a little brass gong to synchronize the teams flow.

Make jokes about it. It is a good way for technical oriented, difficult-to-show-emotions, work-is-war men that we are, to deal with this issue. Now find yourself a spot where nobody can see you, and float free like a bird.

Download here the first part of my book "Surprise! Now You're A Software Project Manager"

Management And Meditation

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