is it easy? no.

that’s why I say I work hard for it.

because been transparent is not only hard, but also a double edge sword.

on the one hand, by being transparent you allow others to give you advice that could be actionable, you also empower others around you to take a step forward and do their bit, you also avoid (giving) surprises.

however difficult and vulnerable being transparent is, it can also tilt the other way and make people feel insecure or uncomfortable with the current situation; which is why just as important as been transparent, keeping those around you informed as things change, also is; so they can assess reality and make decisions – and you need to be comfortable with the however the outcome.

in the past I’ve been bitten by surprises, they are not great. worst, I’ve been bitten by people’s “everything is alright” until it isn’t, and you never saw it coming, sort of situations; leaving close to know chance for action.

being transparent and inviting transparency back to you is part of earning and giving trust, it’s about inviting people to be candid to you and for you to welcome it with open arms, it is about having timely feedback to inform action.

transparency and trust seem like a lost art but something we all should try to embrace and nurture, not only to make our today better but also to transform situations around it, either by action or by influence, or even sometimes to prepare yourself for what’s coming.

thinking everything is up and to the right, today, doesn’t cut it; but by being transparent you also invite others to act; and, to realise that we’re all in it, together.

on Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about the number #1 rule been making sure you have the right people on the bus, 100%; then, if you keep reading, there is an even more important lesson thrown in there for all of us: the importance of being rigorous, not ruthless, rigorous.

for many of us in leadership positions this should be framed right in front of us.

it’s about managing and keeping expectations from you and to you, to those around you. to show up and share the load; otherwise, off the bus.

at Leaf we have a #wins channel in our slack where everyone and anyone can share good news, special product releases, positive customer feedback, new customers signed offs or people getting out of their comfort zone and delivering delight to customers or internal team members alike.

wins can make someone’s day as well as remind you that no matter the chaos good things are also going on in the mist of everything.

we started the wins channel in the darkest of the days at Leaf, when any win got overshowed by the feeling of “yes, but” … then we said “f*ck it, a win is a win and worth celebrating”, even when there is a much bigger hill to climb, we can take a minute and appreciate the flowers.

celebrating wins helped change our mindset and ever since, wins are a constant reminder that we are on this infinite game and if we don’t get to enjoy the journey, then what’s the point of all this sacrifice?

just as we have made retrospectives and post-mortems a regular ritual, wins are there as well to shine a light on things worth cheering.

The minute we stop cataloguing events and focus instead of our mindful respond or not to situations, the minute our anxiety does away, and we regain control.

Easy? Nop.

Life happens, that the best gift we get every day and what happens in such life is what gives meaning to waking up.

Challenges or opportunities, all situations will have multiple angles we can look them by, and we have the power in ourselves.

But we must try.

In these times, taking things at face value and then figuring the best next step is an approach we can take with so much uncertainty flowing around.

This is my daily practice.

Often, as leaders, we tend to postpone acting due to the sunk cost we have incurred, we push acting, and it is not until we are made to act that we take on decisions made long ago.

Graham Fink mentioned in his masterclass a few days ago, that the best day in our lives is today, now. Because we get the opportunity to act, make and change. The past is gone, the future, will never exist, it is today what we have been giving to take act on.

Recession. So much of an opportunity to act on what we have been postponing. To turn a challenge into positive, to consolidate and grow. It’s on all on us, on how we decide to take on these times. On the now.

Taken from Farnam Street

I grew up Catholic, I did all my catechesis until my confirmation (at 15), and then I stopped believing. It was not sudden, it was a process.

I first started questioning the act of the confession — how could I be “pardoned”, for the wrong I did to my friends, family and specially, my mom; by someone other than by the people to whom I had done wrong to? — not a priest, whom had nothing to do with my acts, in the first place. If I were to confess to anyone, it ought to be to be people I did wrong. Otherwise, no repentance was valid. So I stopped confessing.

Then my grandma died and it hurt. 

I married catholic, and whilst a non-believer, I thought of the ritual of marriage as the perfect way to celebrate the love I had for my partner. The ceremony was celebrated by a priest who is more my uncle than a member of the clergy; it felt special and it was. Whilst at the ceremony, all I thought and wanted was for my grandma to be there. Having it in a church, was the closest thing to celebrate her memory.

Then my father in law, Jorge, died, after a long and painful illness, and whilst it hurt, it was also merciful; he didn’t had to suffer no more. That time in the hospital and later in the care home taught me a lot about love, pain, God (or the lack of) and human kindness. It thought me about charisma and vocation, it thought me about giving yourself up, for others and what to expect (or not) afterlife. It was the perfect example that heaven or hell is experienced while you are very much alive. Sometimes both, the very same day.

Since, I have gone reflecting on the meaning of God, the meaning of religion, community, human rituals and the sense of community. I have also reflected the role they play in our life. Religion is something more present when things go wrong and you are desperate for an alternative. Religion outgrows wether you believe there is a God or not. It is a way of belonging.

Whilst me and Helga were living in Seoul, some 10 years ago, we attended mass as way to interact with the Latino community in Korea; whilst living in Chicago, we did so as Sunday ritual to reflect on life and the week that passed; then we moved back to Costa Rica and we took on different rituals; but in doing so, we lost the sense of community.

Today, as I wondered the Kindle store of a non biz book to read, I stumbled in to Sasha Sagan’s little book For Small Creatures Such as We, Sasha is Carl Sagan’s daughter, and in this book she reflects upon this same conundrum, religions or believes, far from just the faith that unites groups of people, also gives them a sense of community. So what to do when one is a non-believer? What rituals do we share?

Cue in love. The universe. The tiny probability of life on this planet.

For such small creatures such as we, the vastness is bearable only through love

Ann Druyan, in Contact by Carl Sagan

As humans, we crave community, connections, rituals and celebrations. Life and love as a result are such much worthy of it. Belonging, no matter where you are, through your feelings and interactions got to be the way. One. Big. Way.

I am lucky to have a wonderful family in Helga, my parents, siblings, and in laws; but I am also lucky to have a life full of stories, friends, foes and experiences. To welcome every day anew, to have learnt that things are neither good or bad, they just are; and, that it is how we react to things what makes all the difference. To be positive and to believe that none does wrong on purpose. That you, just as me, all we wants is to be acknowledged, appreciated and happy.

Religion has allowed our ancestors and many people today to find purpose, community and a sense of security against the unknown; it also has served as moral compas for how we are to behave as society. For me, it was rituals that brought me together with my family and still is; but as I search forward, I’ve learnt to embrace my culture, acknowledge my own skepticism and celebrate life, the universe and the tiny probability that made us here, today. Ultimately, if I am gone or those around me first, I take confort in that life, whilst we had it, was loved.

Peace.

this week I took the chance to do so with my home office, cleaned up, did cable management, got a few things I didn’t need out and improved the lighting (special in these short days of winter).

funny how little rituals like these completely reset your thinking, gives you space for mindful thinking, and allow the space needed to make (thoughtful) decisions.

we don’t have new year’s every week, but we get new weeks, months, and days, how we approach them when our minds are cluttered is what matters. but reminding us that they exist makes all the difference.

happy new year, everyone!

what Mark showed us yesterday is a vision of the future based on how they see it (or at least how they are prepared to speak in public about it), that of a fully immersive world, a las cinematic world one, where we all live, digitally and come together regardless of physical location in a virtual and augmented reality.

whilst you might think this is too wild to be true, you only must google for the ones Microsoft used to make in the 90’s and early 00’s about a world in which we would have smartphones with all our information living in “the cloud” and where we would, one day, all be working from home and meet through video conferences (novelty!) wireless.

it took our world 20 years to deliver us the technology that powers the world we live in, and whilst it was not Microsoft but Apple who delivered us a fully enclosed mobile world; it will take a different kind of people and vision to deliver us the next big thing, “the Metaverse”, and no matter how bad we think of Facebook today (remember how many people thought of Microsoft in the 00’s?) we are already entering the next evolution of our digitals life, only we don’t know it yet; and, whether our children are ahead of us with Fortnite and Roblox, or the youngsters with NFTs and crypto, there is already out there all the innovation ensued and it will be just a matter of years (not decades) before it hits the masses.

so, if you didn’t watch the keynote, it’s not too late, no matter your thoughts on Facebook Meta and whether they will be the ones delivering it or not, we can’t take away the fact that as scary as it might feel, this is the future and it’s also exciting!