We believe you are only as strong as the principles you uphold. Here’s what we believe in:
To be Kyosei … We Must Be Kyosei.
Kyosei is a Japanese concept that translates as ‘living and working together for the common good.’ To this end, it’s interpretation and ultimate fulfillment is largely subjective to who you and your organization are (and wish to ideally become – which is something we can help you with). While we believe the idea of Kyosei can be universally practised by everyone — the ultimate fulfillment of Kyosei in you or your organization’s life, like a finger print, will always be unique to you. It’s a single riddle with as many different answers as there are people.
For us (bringing the idea down from the philosophical temple for a moment!), Kyosei means asking how we as a business can maximize our ability to help you – so you can be of the most benefit to everyone else.
That’s our solution to the Kyosei riddle. Yours will be different.
Be Like Bamboo
In a world obsessed with rapid progress and immediate gratification, what can it hurt to plan a little? To that end, we say be like bamboo.
Showing no growth above the soil (sometimes for years) it bides its time. Then, in a matter of days or even hours, bamboo can shoot up several feet. The secret is in its root system which it builds deliberately, patiently and slowly — preparing. Only when the root system and the time is right does bamboo burst through – using its long stored energy for for rapid, sustained growth.
One of the strongest, most resilient materials known to man with a tensile strength approximately steel, amidst death and destruction, bamboo survived the Hiroshima atomic blast closer to ground zero than any other living thing and was also responsible for the first re-greening.
Compounding this strength, bamboo is so flexible that it enables structures to ‘dance’ off earthquakes rather than collapse. As such, it has been a mainstay building material for earthquake proofing in Asia for years.
Strong. Resiliant. Flexible. Deliberate. We can learn a lot from bamboo — so can you.
Celebrate What’s Right
We believe that every individual is naturally creative, resourceful and whole. Nothing is broken or needs fixing. Because we believe that you have the ability, passion and drive to succeed in anything you choose to be, do and have in your life, our role is primarily to provide the questions that will help you to unlock your own wisdom, discover your strengths, and create strategies for action that will fit best with who you are. That said, we will also provide direct feedback, resources, ideas and perspectives based on both our experiences and observations that will help you to transform limited perspectives and continually reach beyond the limits of what you thought was possible.
Consider the Whole
We believe that a fundamental skill of learning to thrive in your life and work is the ability to step out of crisis mode, look at the big picture, and understand the web of interrelated systems and causes that create the results you experience in your life and work. The Life-Work Integrity™ Coaching program is designed to develop these fundamental skills and knowledge. Our coaching will always encourage you to focus on long-term, lasting results, rather than simply alleviating current sources of discomfort.
Start Where You Are
We believe that the client is ultimately in charge of guiding the coaching relationship. We will provide suggestions and options as to what might work best and where to begin, but you must be willing to take charge, make choices and ask for what you want. Trust yourself that whatever is up for you as you approach your coaching session each week, is exactly the right place to start, regardless of whether or not it seems like it is “on track”
Passion is Paramount
Your passions are the source of direction, clarity, and energy along the journey. We will continuously bring you back to your Passions to help you develop the ability to align them with all areas of your life and work.
Being vs. Doing
We believe that your success in achieving the results you want in your life and work is founded in your ability to identify and align with your desired state of “being”. Who you are being is the foundation that informs what you do, what you have and what you can achieve. This approach may look very different from traditional approaches of goal setting, action and activity. It requires a willingness to cultivate the ability to be still, seek awareness, face the truth about self and others, and focus as much on energizing your vision as on taking action.
We Practice What We Preach
‘Dogfooding’ is a term we picked up from one of our tech company clients – and frankly, we embrace it. Dogfooding means that we don’t recommend anything to you unless we actively use or practice it ourselves (hence, ‘we eat our own dogfood’ as the techies would say). This keeps us honest, keeps us on our toes and ensures that we are forced to refine and hone our recommendations if they’re not quite ready for mass consumption. To that end, virtually every recommendation we make for you, be it behavioral, system, solution or software has been extensively tested – by us – on us. In some cases, where the best choice for you our clients was not imminently clear, we’ve tested multiple solutions concurrently to find the best answer. This allows us to stand confidently behind our answers, familiarizes us with the landscape of options and saves you the hassle of being the guinea pig!
Kaizen: We Advocate Constant and Continual Improvement in Clients and Ourselves
Kaizen is a Japanese term originally brought to public awareness by Toyota. To paraphrase, it essentially means ‘to seek small but constant improvements in that which is most important.’ We advocate this principle for our clients (and ourselves), practicing it by:
- Seeking to standardize and document fundamental operations and activities.
- Measuring everything that is standardized and documented.
- Determining success measures.
- Innovating to meet and exceed success measures.
- Standardizing and documenting the new, improved way.
- Rinse and repeat!
Living and Working Together for the Common Good
We believe that learning to thrive in a way that is sustainable requires each of us to consider how our actions and decisions impact everyone and everything around us both in the short and long term. Your actions send out ripples that always come back to you in kind. Positive actions return positive ripples of results. Actions that cause harm to others will ultimately send back ripples that are detrimental to your ability to thrive. We make every effort in our coaching to support you in considering the implications of your actions and decisions so that your success may generate continued vitality and prosperity not only for yourself, but for others as well.
Productivity