Max dog stopped abruptly at Thickett in the forest and stared. So I stopped to and we both stared and listened.

What does he see that I don’t see?

Patience, breath, in, out. Slowing down and looking. What’s here?

I looked, waited and breathed into the invitation Max-dog had offered to slow down to what’s here

The trees were dark. It was dusk offering not much light beyond shapes and shades. We stared and I saw max dogs head tilt in inquiry and then I caught what he could see.

Red squirrel. Among the most torturous of friends. Sitting atop a branch for 5 feet away and above. Staring down at us.

Max dog let out a bark yelp of great frustration. Squirrel didn’t move. He knew he was the wiser and perfectly protected exactly where he was. Squirrel shook his tail to further emphasize the point and Max dog offered another bark!

Sometimes another sees what we don’t see.

And executive team includes a leader that often offers “no worries statement “. The potential risk or threat in the situation that others don’t see. Sometimes the team receives it as an offer of risk, other times in frustration, why can’t we just do this?! Execute as we’re attuned to do, why slow down to assess the risk?

In our deepest wisdom we know the value and tension in slowing down. To inquire explore even for one meeting or a few and decide is it worth diverting from the path we are on?

I offered to max dog not now, it’s too dark and you are too excited to remember the safety of our home. You can play with squirrel tomorrow.

What do you want to slow down to see?

We walked through a thick fog that blurred everything ahead into extremes - shades of muted white grey and black. If I didn’t know this landscape and the path to the yurt it would have been dangerous to proceed.

I took comfort in the solar light shining brightly ahead to mark the entrance to the yurt. It had charged throughout the day and shone so brightly as to be unnatural in the dark

In a scale up we’ve been talking as a leadership team about what would give us the signs we were on the right path to greater success. “A repeatable sales model and the ability to ‘digest’ what we sell” the CEO offered. Another client had been so successful at attracting and then closing new enterprise customers but hadn’t shored up their ‘digestion’ ie the ability to deliver on the promises and ensure the product could scale to meet demand. They’d felt like they’d ingested an entire pig and could barely move forward. A horrific image and debilitating problem tha could kill their early success, ruining their newly won reputation by breaking promises.

Being able to see ahead to know the signals of success and failure, work through assumptions can help make the yet unknown path ahead feel more recognizable. Having a single goal gives the feeling of the light we are heading towards.

Max dog and I made our way on the slippery path towards the yurt. It had snowed and then rained and now everything was frozen over. So while we were happy for the walk, the feeling of cool night air, the fresh smells of snow trees and the farm we took our time smiling along the way in anticipation of warmth and a cup of tea.

What signs are you paying attention to?

What is it to wake up to the blue sky and sunshine that feels so good?!

There is no questioning the feeling of sun on your face, just gratitude. Maybe its the welcome after days of rain. If we’d always been in sunshine might we not notice it as much?

And here it is, blue sky and deep appreciation, and the anticipation of a beautiful dayWhatever the reason, gratitude is the feeling.

What is that you are grateful for?

The simplicity of what is, can be all that’s needed without thought of could, should, if this or that

What is for you today?

It’s Spring - for reals.

Sap is running and we have 9 buckets out. C went out to tap some of our big maples today. They are warm and running. Amazing

I know this ride

We’re into it now - it will all come fast. Next is seedlings.

The wind was warm tonight. Like the trees know it.

Hard to imagine with all the snow and ice

I feel myself hold my breath with anticipation.

Spring!

To fall asleep under the starsTwinkling hello and comfortSmile and fall asleep without worry or careFeel held

Waking on sunriseIt alights the sky dome and reveals the blue skyAndThe light smoke from the chimney wafts across the viewSlowly the sunshine fills the room in golden light to welcome the day

We bundle up to go outsideIt won’t be a long walk when it’s this cold

The trees glisten at their top-most branches covered in iceRabbit tracks are everywhere, and in particular placesFrom the forest to the greenhouseFrom the big greenhouse to the little greenhouse and then on to the Sea Buckthorn thicketJoy in their steps and purpose

To be at purpose and with joy, that’s what we strive forWe hear it in the birdsong that talks to us as we make our way back to the yurt for breakfast

What is purposed joy for you today?

Rabbit taunted Max-dog from the forest on the other side of our fence. His white tail showing Max the freedom rabbit was enjoying. Jumping around with no care for Max beyond acknowledgement. Max dog was leashed on our morning walk as we knew rabbit would be around and I had chores to do. Max-dog can play later.

Competition can feel like Rabbit taunting us from across the fence about what they may be doing here or there. It matters to know the context in which you offer your products and service but chasing their elusive tail is not what wins the day.

At the best of my clients they do a yearly or semi-annual competitive landscape and some type of strengths weaknesses opportunities threat analysis to keep their eyes on the horizon and aware enough to take any opportunistic or mitigating actions. It takes discipline and the systemic approach to ensure we don’t get lost in chasing your tail versus the focused productive chores that win the long game.

Max-dog and I got to the yurt to restock the wood and check on the buildings systems. All was well, a great relief. While I do my chores, Max gets to play, bounding back to me happy as can be for all the tracks and scents he got to explore.

Who is the tail you may be chasing?

I listened to the sound of the rain and ice pelt the roof of the yurt and the wind move the walls. It’s nasty out! Even Max dog was not in a hurry to get out for our morning walk

Our perception and awareness of our emotional, physical, spiritual state informs our thoughts and reactions. Sometimes it’s just shitty and that’s OK. Feeling it run its course is what’s important to move through.

Take good care of yourselfBe as present as you can to all of itAll will be well

What is for you today?

If at my convenience I might break them, what would be their worth?” ― Charlotte Brontë

The branches sparkled in the morning light, covered in ice crystals. A light breeze showered us in ice confetti, and it felt like we were in the magical world of a snow globe. The invitation to slow down.

When I spoke with an executive earlier in the week at a fast growing tech company. They had become the successful unicorn many scale-ups aspire to. The question we discussed was: do we have to go so fast? What is it about speed and constant growth that’s so important. Beyond the obvious pressure of ROI for the investment group or the shareholder, there are always moments and versions of the answer to this question in any size or stage of scale. There is no right or wrong answer, save for one that supports the mission, vision, and values of the company. And in the context of your personal and team perspective.

As a leader, what do you stand for in the context of speed?

On the farm, the principal “go slow to go fast” is a virtue that is paramount in all we do. If we think through to the end of the season and what success looks like, working within our core value of ease and joy, it gives a sense of what’s important and has to be done along the way. Last year we grow sweet potatoes for the first time. We learned a lot and one of the lessons was to start the potato slips earlier. That means starting them now to get to abundance in October

C had built a raised bed for the sweet potatoes that I can use again, it’s infrastructure that is scaleable. This is an important element in our decisions for how fast to go and with what and when. If we didn’t have that infrastructure it would be an important thing to start as soon as the ground thawed.

When we are in a constant mode of speed a lot can be lost in the frenzy. Like our why. We want great food and an approach of ease in the process so that we can enjoy as we go. A crazy or frenetic state of being or striving for growth at all costs is not one that supports our values. Joy is part of the journey and good grounded hard work each day.

What is important in your journey?

I looked across the field frozen in snow and ice and thought of the promise it holds - sunshine, warmth green, and new birth. What will this spring bring in healing plants, beautiful flowers and nourishing greens.

For now it is frozen tundra and not long from now it will be abundance.

This is the time of year when natural stores of food are at their lowest and the animals and us dig deep into our wells of strength and faith to access the wisdom that helps us find secret stashes, creative solutions, and new ways to bring us forward into the next season.

What does your wisdom offer you today?

We are in a thaw. It’s been raining nonstop for more than a day. No doubt some places will flood, here it has revealed grass! The first sign of a Spring, grass, right here under the surface of snow and ice.

Product market fit, the magic words are the first sign that you have something customers want and will pay for. A scale up I’m working with has landed their first big deal. They are an enterprise play, so product market fit looks like whales in the ocean. The first whale that will grace your shore is celebrated like grass. Spring is coming! More customers are on their way! And all the work that comes with that.

We revel in the work. It’s part of the journey. To revel in our work, to play to our strengths, to feel on purpose in whatever we do is grace and joy.

Grass. I will take the rain for the grass it reveals. Max dog and I will manage across the ice that was the path and now saturated snow. Grass, for the Spring to come.

The only birds out this morning to witness the revelation and who can withstand the rain is Crow. They caw from the forest, they caw from the sky, rain to bring the Spring so I’ll take the caw. And look forward to the Chickadee Snowbird Cardinal and doves who may emerge later in the day to also revel in the first signs of Spring.

How might you celebrate your version of rain?