No Agenda Club - Live spaciously

Peaceful Christmas

2011-12-22T21:03:00.000+02:00

It has been an exciting autumn, much to do - and a challenge to be.

During this autumn we've had quite a few No Agenda Club meetings, both In Turku and in Helsinki. I haven't "documented" them here on this blog, since I've been whirling around immersed in my doingness.

Now I'm sitting in our living room, just sitting. Candles are burning, I'm letting my mind to cool down. Have I learned anything during these busy months?

Slowly some words start to emerge... Being present in this moment. Compassion towards all living things. Helping others. Nonviolence. Modesty. Forgiveness. Loving and accepting myself - unconditionally, just as I am. Doing the same to others. Being enough as I am, without trying to be important, letting things take their natural course. Letting go of me-centeredness, seeing that all is one.

Kingdom of Heaven is close - in this moment, inside me and you, easily accessible, free of charge, totally free. See you there.

No Agenda Club Turku 4.11.2011

2011-11-04T12:20:00.001+02:00

On a dark autumn morning we stepped into light by sharing a breakfast and good dialogue together.

This time we played with pictures - we chose a picture that described our feelings at the moment, and then gave a word (or two) to go together with the picture.

Let's see... we have LOVE and a picture of holding hands, this needs no explanations. THE BALL IS IN MY CORNER and a picture of a man sleeping with a soccer ball is quite interesting as well; someone feels it's time to be active. TIME with three pictures: a lady wrestling with a crocodile, then spending some time alone, and then a dog relaxing; perhaps someone is reflecting on her relation to time.

ENGINE FOR THE FUTURE and children in a car's engine room; some trust and hope put on the next generation. COMMUNICATION and a big brother giving advice how to play this game - perhaps only one-sided communication, does the little sister get a change to find her own way of playing?

BALANCE and two boys showing their muscles, one is smiling and the other one is serious; perhaps this is about finding balance between struggling and effortless flowing?

EMERGING and a newborn baby being weighed; the future is being born by us - by our thoughts, emotions, dialogue, and actions. A smiley and a picture of a bicycle race and people having a picnic; others are racing, but our No Agenda Club has stopped to enjoy this moment.

PRESENCE and two pigs making contact; we can learn presence skills from animals, and the nature. TRANSFORMATION and a school class, all the other children are busy playing their part as pupils, but one boy is looking up and reflecting... who am I, and what is my purpose?

I feel we took a long learning journey this morning, thank you!

Auraflow Forum in 2008

2011-10-29T12:59:00.002+03:00

I've been busy experiencing new things, but now I feel it's time to continue the story of forums. So far we have covered the first No Agenda Clubs, Business-ICT-People forum, and HR-forum.

These forums were heterogenous - members came from different organizations. The idea was to drop off your work role for a moment, and explore how it feels to face others without shelter provided by roles or formal authority.

Since this seemed to work well and be both fun and useful for participants, we started to ask ourselves: How would this work inside an organization? How do you step out of your role while you're among your colleagues? Is it possible to have an open no-agenda dialogue with your boss?

We looked at the closest organization at hand, Fujitsu Services in Turku. There were about 150 employees in that geographical area, and we asked ourselves: who are the people, or roles, whose collaboration matters the most? We saw three key roles: sales, project managers, and service managers. They all got a lot of training, but it was separate - there was no training to enhance their awareness of each other.

So we invited these people into a forum - named Auraflow (river called Aura flows through the city of Turku; picture YLE / Jouni Koutonen). We noticed there was a clear need to open dialogue across role boundaries. We also noticed it was difficult to leave the roles and acute work situations behind. The roles and their pressures came in between the people, and made relations and interaction distorted.

However, it seemed worthwhile and we made slow progress. The forum still continues which means progress is still being made. I'm not involved in running it anymore, so I just share the beginning story with you.

This was my first in-house forum. Nowadays I'm involved in many similar cases, there seems to be a need for making space and time for people to meet, with no explicit goal or agenda. In this space energy, joy, wellness, and creativity are cherished.

No Agenda Club Turku on 7.10.2011

2011-10-08T11:17:00.000+03:00

We had a circle of people, expressing and experiencing curiosity, appreciation, inspiration, presence, and joy of being together.

"Give me one word" -exercise resulted in a flow of words: JOY, HUNT, SILENT, HARMONY, EMPTY, LEARNING, OPEN, WAKE-UP, THIS-IS-IT, DOSING (or PORTION OUT). The start-up discussion was particularly interesting, since we had two newcomers present; the oldies found themselves telling what this is about, and noticing our group is changing and learning.

Among other things we discussed how members experience these meetings - is it about rational and logical thoughts, practical tools that can be used at the workplace; or is it about feelings, intuition, energy, courage... mental assets that build up rather into your body than your head? And the question of taking the results of these conversations into "real life" - are we doing things differently, does this club have a measurable effect to our work and life?

Every individual has to answer this question him/herself. I can only give my personal answer, and ask other members to send in their comments. For me, this is mainly a body-experience, not a rational event. I come here with an empty mind. I don't expect any particular content or pile of information, I focus on my presence and gut-feeling. This way I get an energy-dose that keeps me going, or helps me to stop when necessary. I somehow "remember myself" better, know who I am, and understand that I am enough, just as I am.

And this inner knowing I take everywhere I go - I have no alternative, it is in me and travels with me anyway. It seems to be helpful at the workplace and at home, everywhere. What a joyful feeling, I thank my fellow members for that gift!

HR Forum in 2006 - 07

2011-09-25T15:39:00.002+03:00

I've been telling stories of the early days, remembering our first experiments - Goodtimers in Turku and Cagebusters in Helsinki, ICT-Business-People Forum in Turku. Now remembering continues...

In 2006, Jukka Suuniitty was working at the Chamber of Commerce, Helsinki district, and he asked me to help him in facilitating a discussion forum for HR managers in small and medium size companies. The Chamber wanted to offer this service to its member companies, many of them small or medium size.

We started an HR Forum, following the principles mentioned earlier; 10-15 members, general theme HR but no fixed agenda, free flow of discussion, meetings once a month, relaxed and playful. We had a fixed time of one year, since this was financed by a development project with that timeframe.

I remember this particular group with great affection, members truly got involved and the discussions went deep. In the beginning our goal was to produce together a guidebook for HR managers in small companies - many of our members were CEOs and ran HR as a sidejob. Since there were no large HR departments and established procedures, some practical guidelines and tools were wanted.

Our great finding that slowly came to us during the year was that we didn't really want to write a guidebook, since we had found a living guide: the group itself was a walking, talking and laughing encyclopedia of practical insights regarding HR, leadership, innovation, creativity etc.

So we focused on sharing experiences and building trust. I know some of the members continued sharing after we stopped the official forum service - perhaps they're still doing it.

For me this case was the final proof: people and their live interaction matters the most. Sharing stories, listening with respect and appreciation, being present - this is what makes the difference. Of course we still need structured information - guidebooks and encyclopedias - but information becomes alive only if there are people taking it out of formation; sharing, questioning and playing with it, putting it into context and building shared meaning out of it.

ICT-Business-People Forum, Turku 2005 -

2011-08-27T11:20:00.001+03:00

At the time these No Agenda -experiments started, I was working at ICL Data (called Fujitsu Services now) as management consultant. The idea was to experiment, but also create indirect business value to my employer by establishing networks of trust among existing and possibly future clients.

After 1-2 years, the first clubs started to wander off Fujitsu's focus - ICT services, outsourcing, ICT governance etc - so we felt that perhaps we let that be as it is, but start another forum with a "loose agenda" that serves the interests of Fujitsu Services without killing the spacious and respectful spirit of No Agenda Clubs.

What was the "loose agenda" - can there be one, it sounds a bit funny? This is the picture we drew in 2006:

We invited business managers, ICT-managers and HR-managers to the forum, to develop together a common language, or at least a common ground for open dialogue between these sub-cultures. We acknowledged that there was a problem in the way these professions talked and saw each other. We wanted to offer a safe place to meet and start a learning journey towards each other - hence the wandering paths from each corner towards the center of the triangle.

We have been traveling towards each other since 2005. As in No Agenda Clubs, some members have been actively in the forum since the beginning, some have left, some have just arrived. Fujitsu Services is the owner of this forum and is to be thanked for patiently continuing to offer this service to its local customers and community in Turku area. I'm still facilitating it - now offering the service as an outsider, since I moved to Humap Oy in 2009.

I think this is a good example of applying the No Agenda -spirit to "real life": (1) Find people who don't meet enough in normal daily life - but should for your business to develop and prosper. This could mean people inside your organization - sales vs. production, purchasing vs. HR, sales vs. purchasing, IT vs R&D - or people along your value chain or community. (2) Create an interest, a vision of common benefit, something that makes these people curious. (3) Just arrange a safe place (physically and mentally) to meet, facilitate but don't control it. (4) Keep doing it, patiently. Just let things develop, observe and reflect.

You will get huge benefits with minimum effort and costs. You will also learn things you will never learn in any school.

Cagebusters in Helsinki, 2003-2005

2011-08-13T09:38:00.003+03:00

We started another group in Helsinki, following the same principles we had with Gootimers in Turku.

I quote our 1st booklet, this is how the group challenged itself in the beginning - and named itself the Cagebusters:

We are challenging ourselves to share personal experiences - successes and failures to give us valuable ideas and fresh perspectives. Many interesting topics and personal experience stories we're presented and we look forward to presentations and open dialogue about these. What is said by who in our meetings remains confidential.

Breaking free of the cage is a common theme. How to find courage to step out of one's limiting thinking patterns (the cage)? How to keep this stepping-out process going? Is our new reality just another cage? Sharing personal experiences and supporting each other to break free of the cage creates a network of like-minded (and light-minded) people. Sharing and support turns into mentoring and help in business and with "real-life" issues. This group is a safe place to present your ideas and challenges and to gain inspiration, new understandings and encouragement. A great learning opportunity.

This breaking-free attitude led to the name of this group: "Cagebusters". We had great fun in cagebusting, but also experienced some confusion and even fear. This is how one member described her feelings:

"This cagebusting process has increased my feeling of uncertainty, but at the same time it IS my safety."

Nomen est omen, said the Romans. The name Cagebusters had a strong flavor of shaking off something, and then flying free. We continued for about two years, and then, in all friendship, we stopped meeting. I feel we got rid of our mental cages, and were ready to continue on our own. Of course, cagebusting never ends - once you step out of one mental cage, you just find yourself in another, probably bigger one. And then you bust out of that, and move on.

I have often wondered why the Goodtimers is still active and having a good time, but Cagebusters ended. After all, the approach was the same. Could it be that the name the groups chose themselves defined their mission and destiny - having a good time is something you never want to finish, but if you're in a cage and busting out of there, you don't want to get stuck but want to get it done as soon as possible.

Our thoughts create our reality, and that creates our destiny. We must be aware of, and take responsibility of what we're thinking.

The 1st No Agenda Club, Turku 2003

2011-08-01T16:28:00.000+03:00

We decided to start our 1st No Agenda Club, open for anyone who felt the need inside. Chris and I were the active players; we started the 1st group in Turku, in June 2003.

When we started to talk about our idea, we soon noticed that "No Agenda" sounded a bit dangerous to many people - how do I explain this to my boss, was the spontaneous reaction. We changed the name into "Leaders Forum", not mentioning that in our mind everyone is a leader, not just the individuals who have that title in their business card, at the moment.

The format was simple - it was a No Agenda Club (once a month, breakfast meeting, casual and relaxed, spontaneous and playful, no expectations) plus a Leaders Forum -ingredient: Chris gave a 20-30 minute talk on something related to leadership. This was just to make members feel safe; the free-flowing discussion was the main idea, and the presentation had a time limit (30 min).

In our 1st meeting we asked whether the members wanted any rules. A silence entered the room, we could sense the surprise - "haven't these guys planned anything in advance?". Well we hadn't, we just invited some interesting people and asked them what would amuse them the most. In other words, we trusted they would bring the essence with them.

"No powerpoints", someone said after a while. Everyone was very happy about this invention. Then the silence fell again - after a while someone said: "perhaps we don't need any other rules, let's move on with this". So we did.

Then we asked the group to name itself, and if they wanted, to write some kind of a purpose statement of our forum. The group wanted to be called "the Goodtimers", since the main idea was to have fun and enjoy the learning journey that was ahead of us.

The purpose statement wasn't born in the 1st session, but took some months to ripen. This is how it looked after 6-8 meetings (I've taken this from the 1st "booklet", where I summarized the findings of Goodtimers 1st six-month period):

Business managers are splitting the reality and then trying to manage this self-created separateness. Since separateness is unnatural, it requires a lot of effort. What supports relationships is working with the oneness. Since organizations are just relationships between people, this also supports organizations. Since oneness is natural, there is no effort. Leaders Forum is a learning process from separateness to oneness.

Who were the members, and how did we find them? We just spread the word, and let the members find us. We didn't want to send invitations to people we knew, we wanted the members to bring people they found interesting - and so the group would be more diverse and surprising. We soon stabilized into 15-20 persons, some members have been regularly in the group since 2003, some have gone and new ones have emerged.

There are some old Leaders Forum notes in http://leadersforumgoodtimers.blogspot.com/ - later we joined all groups into this one No Agenda Club -blog.

So, we started with a slight agenda - Chris gave us talks on topics like "Me-me vs. work-me", "Unlocking the inspiration, energy and genius within", “Visioning”, “Living life fully” etc. At the end of every six-month period we had a "direction-setting meeting" to discuss what had been going on in the previous period and what would we like to explore during the next period. As periods and years went by, No Agenda started to take more space: first we might have a period programme with three predefined topics and three empty No Agenda -slots, and later we started to skip the period planning altogether and trust our improvisation skills. In 2010 we changed our name into "No Agenda Club Turku", since it seemed to better describe who we are.

Any questions or comments? Please ask, I can tell more if you're curious?

Next time I'll tell about the 2nd group - Cagebusters in Helsinki, in 2004.

The birth story of No Agenda Clubs

2011-07-19T15:48:00.001+03:00

Many new readers have shown an interest to this blog, as well as local members to our meetings. Therefore I thought it might be a good idea to tell a short story of the early days of No Agenda Clubs.

I cannot pinpoint a particular date, or even a year, when it began. But I do remember when the name No Agenda Club emerged. There were three of us, Chris Evatt, Jukka Suuniitty and I, all submerged by busy schedules, deadlines, goals, competition, pressure, getting tired,... what I nowadays call the "Yes Agenda Club".

We were all working as consultants, Chris as an entrepreneur, Jukka and I in a large IT-company.
We thought our work-roles were relatively free compared to many others, so why are we experiencing this? And what was most important: why don't we change this, for our own good, and perhaps for the betterment of our customers?

We began our experiment in 2000 or 2001. A very simple test it was: we just reserved half-a-day per month in our calendars (business hours, not weekends or evenings), went to a nice cafe, sat down with no expectations whatsoever.

We had only one rule: no preparations, no predefined agendas, no written material or powerpoints. Just an empty mind, and 100% presence - "close your mobile phone and open your mind" was our motto.

First we just enjoyed the flow, made no notes and didn’t really reflect on what was happening. We just had so much fun and felt so energized that we kept on doing it – I don’t recall any discussion whether we should continue meeting like this or call it off, we just booked more meetings as months went by. Soon we started to call our meetings the "No Agenda Club".

This went on for one or two years. Then we sort of woke up and remembered that this was an experiment - what is happening, have we changed as a result of these meetings, what is the structure or process involved? We couldn’t really define what was going on in the meetings, except that we were receiving energy from an unknown source; three guys enter a room, spend a few hours in an intense dialogue, and leave the room experiencing higher energy levels than they had when the meeting started. This was the most interesting finding, considering the fact that in most of our other business meetings the energy levels developed just the opposite, everyone seemed to get tired in the meetings.

If no-one was getting tired, the extra energy wasn’t being sucked from one poor individual – it had to come from somewhere else. Or were we creating energy through our relations, the way we talked and connected to each other? Did we form an energy channel through our dialogue, through our minds that were connected, or could I say melted into one mind?

And the most important question: If this can happen in a No Agenda Club meeting, why doesn't it happen everywhere, all the time? How could we take this experience to our customers, to start a bigger process than just three guys having fun by themselves?

This is how it started - do you want to hear more? Send in comments and questions, if this makes you curious - even one reply will make me feel telling this story is worthwhile, and I will continue... next time I could tell you how we started our first club in 2003.

Be still and enjoy your summer!

2011-07-01T15:44:00.002+03:00

I'm sitting in the office, just finished my last task on my todo-list before I start my summer holidays. The office is empty and still, I hear the air conditioning humming - it's +28 °C outside, and the sun is shining.

How do I feel now? Am I now on holiday, or is my mind still at work?

Letting go is the key skill I'm thinking of right now. Can I let go of the busy spring and early summer, can I let go of my goals regarding next autumn? Is being enough for me?

I'm thinking of our family, and the vacation that's ahead of us. Do we have a plan, is it going to be a Yes Agenda holiday, not so different from our daily activities when parents were at work and children at school? Or is it a No Agenda holiday, with spontaneity and spaciousness?

I look at my calendar. 1st week, nothing. 2nd week, a sports camp for families with different exercises, healthy food, swimming and sauna... looks like a plan, but it's fun and we all love it. 3rd week, nothing. 4th week, nothing. 5th week, I'm still on holiday, and nothing planned for this week either.

So much room for surprises, so many opportunities to get frustrated because there's nothing to do! The children will innovate unbelievable ways to have fun, and all we have to do is let go of our controlling paradigms and let them be who they are - happy and healthy children.

I'm letting go of everything that's on my mind right now, accepting the nothingness of our holiday, and letting come anything that wants to return to me after the holidays.

Be still. Enjoy this moment. Let go, let come.

No Agenda Club Turku on 3.6.2011

2011-06-03T19:37:00.000+03:00

We met on a sunny summer morning, nature was busy opening up - Finnish summer is short, northern light is abundant and naked, there's something manic about the way summer rushes to use the short window of opportunity between long, dark winters.

I feel we did the same. No Agenda turned quite quickly into a deep and adventurous discussion of life and death. "Give me one word" always cuts to the point - here are our words this time: AWAKE - JOY - RESPONSIBILITY - WHO? - DISCONNECTED - LIGHT - ARRIVING - HAPPY ACCIDENT - DANGEROUS - LIBERATION - ENERGY.

There was - again - a lot of talk about trust; how trusting that life will carry you is essential for living and succeeding here and now. You can also count on that life will kill you - coming in terms with that is liberating, and after some reflection doesn't feel sad at all. Actually, it wakes your curiosity, doesn't it?

We discussed words dangerous - safe. What is safe, and what is dangerous? Should we teach our children to live dangerously, and so learn to trust their own resources and abilities to cope with any situation that arises? Or should we protect them from the harms of this world? Can we do that, and should we even try? Whom are we protecting, if we protect our children? Of course, some protecting regarding physical threats is necessary, but limiting their minds into "safe thoughts" might be harmful. Creativity needs dangerous thoughts.

One member made a remark that really stopped us. He usually controls things by talking much, but here he has focused on listening and that feels dangerous - he's not in control. I think this is the key learning we're practicing here: how to let go of control, and observing how that feels inside.

Thank you for this morning, thank you for this summer :-)

No Agenda Clubs in Helsinki 11.5. and Turku 13.5.

2011-05-14T18:04:00.000+03:00

This week has been great fun in many ways, partly because we’ve had two No Agenda sessions on the same week – on Wednesday in Helsinki and on Friday in Turku.

In Helsinki the key words were BUBBLY - GIVE UP – ENJOYMENT – OPEN – SHAMAN JOURNEY – PRIDE – RELAXED - SURRENDER. I feel that we were after the good old Presence – how to remain calm and centered in the midst of busyness and fragmented minds.

In Turku the same game continued, with a strong focus on expressing emotions and being plain, as one member put it. The key words were ENERGY – ALIVE – SUITABLE – EAR – CURIOUS – ENTHUSIASTIC – HUMBLE – KAROSHI (the Japanese word for dying of overwork, with a smiley indicating that we’re not doing this) – NOW - SURRENDER – PLAIN – CLEARMINDED – FEAR – SPRINGREEN – SCHOOLBOY – HAPPY.

Why do we always have this “give me one word” –exercise in the beginning? The most important

reason is that it’s great fun – this alone would be enough to justify it. It also opens our minds and cuts right to the point. Therefore it combines the two main motivations of No Agenda Clubs: having fun, and finding out what’s worthwhile.

What happens when you ask each other: How do you feel right now – give me one word to crystallize that? Why is that important? We’re practicing some very essential skills:

(1) The art of intuition; Were asking each other to proceed without conceptualising and reasoning, and instead to trust our intuition – just say the first word that flashes into your mind, not he ones that come later, through thinking.

(2) The art of presence; We often run into a meeting directly from another, our bodies are in the new meeting, but our minds are in the previous one. How do you make contact to the situation you have just entered, and leave everything else behind?

(3) The art of self-reflection; How do I feel right now? Can I contact my feelings, or is my mind speeding past them?

(4) The art of trusting; How high is the trust level of the group? If I know how I feel, can I say it out loud in this group? In many management teams you cannot do that - that is also the case in some families.

(5) The art of crystallization; If I know how I feel, can I express it briefly with just one word, showing my essence and nothing else? If I can do this with my feelings, I can do that also with the facts I want to present.

(6) The art of listening; Can I stop to listen to what others say? Am I genuinely curious about how others feel, deep down and not only on the polite, superficial level?

These skills are essential in any group and situation, also the ones with tight agendas. Practise these skills on the No Agenda Club, and then take them into the Yes Agenda Clubs as well. You’ll see that things become more spacious. Any group that masters these skills is on its path to greatness – it could be a management team, a project group, or a family.

Three habits

2011-04-15T19:22:00.001+03:00

Mastery of mind makes opportunities look big and obstacles look small. It enables presence, awareness, joy and peace. All this free of charge, instantly and effortlessly.

How do you master your mind? I’ve been practicing three habits: (1) Remembering yourself, (2) Surrendering to others, (3) Living and working spaciously. I’m not saying I have made it – I have experienced moments of success, but also failure. I accept that, and keep practicing.

Self-remembering is about knowing and trusting your true self; acknowledging the inner space that you really are. How do I practice this habit? I try to constantly keep a clear connection to my inner space – sensing who I am, where I am, what I’m trying to achieve, and how do I feel right now. This habit is important, since everything I perceive happens in this space.

Surrendering to others is about knowing and trusting others; ignoring ego-barriers and relating directly without conceptualizing and labelling others. It’s a balancing counter-force to self-remembering; it’s about forgetting your illusion of separateness, the ego-based idea of you as a separate person. How do I practice this habit? I observe my ego all the time, pay attention when it wants to create drama into my life. I take distance from it, drop it and face others as they are (this doesn’t always happen, but I keep practicing).

Living and working spaciously is combining habits (1) and (2) in the Now; living your daily life and doing your daily work from your own power and presence, with compassion and curiosity towards others. The spaciousness comes from combining the habits, practicing just one of them makes life tight and limited. How do I practice this habit? I try not to focus on just one the habits, but seek balance in every situation; it’s not what’s happening inside me, or outside… it’s the relation between these two.

How do the three habits manifest? You're achieving goals with less effort, and the goals are set by you, not someone else. You will probably set fewer goals, and start taking your life less seriously. Everything gets lighter, you tread lightly on your own path.

No Agenda Club Turku on 1.4.2011; How will we learn?

2011-04-12T13:54:00.001+03:00

In the near future (2020), how and where are we learning? What to do to educate young professionals to be creative and innovative? What are the deeds that should be done today (immediately) --- this year (quite soon)?

We started with these questions, presented by a group of researchers from Turku Polytech of Applied Sciences. We didn't answer them directly - this is natural - but had an inspiring session instead, a flow of exploration. Some ideas can be seen on the picture, with Generation Y named as "Oh Yes" -generation, and us (a bit older ones) as "Oh No" -generation. That said, we added that the word "generation" doesn't really apply here, this is not a question of your physical age, but your mental attitude.

Anyway, we see that learning and working will be quite different, perhaps quite soon? The next picture gives some keywords we seemed to be interested in - we don't really know what's going to happen, but believe that these words will somehow be present in the near future?

Just one more observation: There hasn't been a single "give me one word" -flipchart (we do this in almost every session) in any of the No Agenda Groups for several years, that hasn't got the word TRUST on it. Seems that this is the most important word right now?

To trust or not to trust, that's the question... How do you create trust, please send some comments?

What is stopping you from...

2011-04-02T17:51:00.001+03:00

Yesterday I was working at home, preparing a presentation regarding self-leadership. I was very focused, keen on "getting it right"... I was finetuning a spesific slide I considered to be the real punchline of my story.

The phone rings, it's my 20-year-old son: "hi dad, I'm driving past your house, are you at home or at the office? Can I drop by, I'd like to talk?" I welcome him, but while I'm waiting for him to arrive, I feel a little frustration rising - I really should get this presentation finished today... plus some other things on my todo -list.

Then my eyes stop at the topic of my punchline slide, its says "What is stopping you from being present, here and now?"

I realize that the laws of synchronicity have sent my son to rescue me; from being lost in my own thoughts, pulling me back to this moment and teaching me the essence of my presentation that I was so boldly preparing for others.

When my son arrived, I was very humble, and as a result we had a great discussion by the kitchen table, drinking coffee and enjoying the moment together.

One could say we had a No Agenda Club session - a spontaneous encounter with open heart and mind.

What does it take to have that experience? I feel I can meet others this way only if I meet myself first - I call this my Inner No Agenda Club. It's a private club inside my head - or the whole body.

This is where I practice the art of not thinking: can I see the world outside me as it is, without rationalizing and conceptualizing it automatically into something I can handle? For instance, looking at a flower - how long does it take till the automatic thinking process begins... "it's a rose, red, 10 pieces altogether, price 30 euros, my wife likes them, I love her, I really should call that client, that project worries me, why don't my children ever listen to me, I really should lose some weight,..." In just a few seconds, I have totally lost the essence of that flower, its vast and perfect expression of life.

If it's so difficult to listen to a flower, how about another human being? Can I meet him or her, without conceptualizing, labeling and defining what to expect? Can I listen to another person, just listen? No dialogue happens without genuine listening - talking is easy, it's all up to how you listen.

I feel this is the core skill of life - I suggest you visit regularly your private inner space, call it a No Agenda Club or whatever suits you.

Forestopper's meditation

2011-03-20T20:11:00.002+02:00

I'm walking in the forest, stop for a while under a big pine tree to do some slow taiji movements. Everything slows down... and stops. I'm just breathing and listening to my inner silence. I sense our planet inside me, suddenly it's small and I'm big. The planet is turning around, it feels funny in my stomach.

"Love. Now."

The planet is whispering to me, with every turn it repeats those words - Love. Now. I look down, somehow my eyes can look downwards through my throat, inside my body. My heart is pumping, and under it is our planet, circling around. I see Japan, Libya, Afganistan,... Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa, Australia, the white poles with ice melting. I see it all, with one glance.

I look closer, I see people - in offices, schools, factories, homes, hospitals, libraries, barracks. I see the drama, created by an illusion of separateness. I see families, organizations and nations loosing track, getting lost, not fulfilling their potential.

We need to change.

How is that done? Eckhart Tolle says in his book Stillness speaks:

"When you receive whoever comes into the space of Now as a noble guest, when you allow each person to be as they are, they begin to change."

I wish I could do this in all my encounters - with family members, friends, relatives; and with clients, I feel this attitude is at the core of mindful coaching. Could you do this, to everyone you meet? Perhaps you're already mastering this skill...

I see us starting a change journey together, rising above the self-created drama - words like competition, stress, struggle, and effort are transforming into compassion, acceptance, collaboration, respect, trust, and joy. It's a long journey, I know - but doesn't it make you curious?

Love. Now. - So simple.

No Agenda Club Helsinki on 16.3.2011

2011-03-18T12:39:00.000+02:00

"Everyone can work in one's own way", said Tove Jansson. We concluded: "... and that's the only possible way". And that's not all: it applies to your whole life. There is no other alternative than to live your life in your own way. Whatever happens externally, you will interpret and act upon it in your own way, through your own mental lenses and thinking patterns.

We followed this principle on a Wednesday afternoon by voluntarily attending a No Agenda Club meeting in Helsinki - we sat in a certain room, in a ring with certain people, and chose a certain course of discussion. Other alternatives would have been available as well - why did we choose to sit here?

Some words we chose: lightness, optimism pot, enjoy, totally happy, shame&quilt, circle, circus, stress. Strong words, a lot of energy loaded in them. We chose to deal with them in a very playful manner, respecting and challenging each other as we went along. We were playing with energy, tossing words and insights around - and energy was playing with us, turning our minds around and offering new perspectives. We saw how putting your energy to something increases it: "Solving problems creates more problems", and "Allowing things to happen makes them happen, with no effort or stress".

What a joyful experience, thank you!

Becoming a Forestopper

2011-03-10T07:23:00.001+02:00

Am I speeding, is my head taking me on a fast lane, forcing me past my heart? What am I after, why am i in a "busyness business"?

Should I stop being a Forerunner, become a Forestopper instead - look inside myself, decide what is important, and put everything else aside?

What is stopping me from stopping, from following my natural pace? Am I afraid of stopping, do I worry about not being able to function at all? What if stopping something would make space for accelerating something else, something more meaningful? Would being fast and effective in things I've chosen be more fun, not causing stress and making me tired?

What is important, and what is not? I'll start with NO, since that will make space for the YES.

My NO goes to…

1. WORRYING – I don’t worry about the future, I focus on the present moment
2. COMPETING – I don’t compare myself with others, I try to be free of any kind of ranking
3. HURRYING – I don’t respond to the invitations of hurry, I take command of my mind and remain still.

My YES goes to:

1. CHOOSING – I make my own choices, remembering who I am and what I want.
2. TAKING RESPONSIBILITY – I take full responsibility of my choices; also the things I choose to leave out of my life.
3. WALKING FREELY MY OWN PATH – I listen to others, but I choose my own path and the people I walk with.

How about you?

No Agenda Club Turku discussed TRUST on March 4th, 2011

2011-03-06T10:48:00.003+02:00

We had an exceptionally vibrant meeting. The discussion played around in pure No Agenda -style, touching deep issues like trust, forcing, being incomplete, focusing, expectations, opening, unfolding, control, fear,...

What do we trust, when we trust? What is missing, if we don't trust? We often see other persons as trustworthy, or unreliable. But should we focus on other persons so much? Is trust really about trusting oneself? Or trusting life - we used a phrase "trust is the carrier wave of life". Whatever happens outside, I can trust myself (my inner world), my ability to decide on my interpretations and cope accordingly with the external world.

We discussed a lot about forcing things, working hard to make things change. Where does this need to force things/others come from? Don't I trust others, or the process? Do I think I'm so important, that only my aggressive forcing will make things change? Would some other approach, perhaps a more trustful one, lead to better results? Should I just let go, do my part of the work without forcing, and give others space to do theirs?

Life will carry me, I can trust it. Life will finally kill me, I can trust that, too. I can surrender to this, or spend my life fighting against it. Either way, it's my life.

Members say...

2011-02-25T09:18:00.000+02:00

I'm collecting comments from members, to get a broader view on how it feels to participate. Here's one from No Agenda Club Turku:

Eyes, Ears and Tongues affect our brains just like seeds can create flowers

During No Agenda sessions I’ve noticed overlap with a metaphor in That’s Not Me. Learning to cope with sensitive cultural issues. At the beginning of my intercultural courses, students and I alike are often unaware of what our eyes and ears don’t see or hear and what the eyes and ears of others don’t see or hear when we are being/acting and our tongues are active/inactive. Eyes and ears bring information to our brains, but personal and cultural experiences often limit our ability to see and hear what is influenced by the deeper meanings of our ways of living and communicating.

As our taken-for-granted interpretations of self and others come to the surface, our brains encourage our eyes and ears to look and listen below the surface and our tongues to begin to have the voice of a mediator and facilitator. As mediators, group members develop competence for discovering, interpreting and communicating previous invisible meanings in self and others plus competence for helping others move in the same direction. As facilitators, they also begin to help each other ask themselves and others meaningful, even provocative, questions during their group discussions. The coaching teacher is the privileged learner, just like our leaders should always be.

Of course, there is also a difference between university activity and No Agenda meetings. No Agenda learning comes via sharing what we have learned through longer experience inside and outside the No Agenda atmosphere. It also goes deeper than a course experience because we have a combination of No Agenda opportunity every month and time for reflection with ‘positive active hiljaisuus’ between the gatherings. We are privileged to have a never ending experience for learning and sharing what we learn from others.

Michael Berry
Docent of Intercultural Relations
Turku School of Economics/University of Turku

No Agenda effects

2011-02-02T17:48:00.000+02:00

This blog isn't anymore so much about what has happened in a specific session with a specific group. This is changing into what happens to me when I'm exposed to so many great people in so many No Agenda -situations.

This week I've had the privilege to attend to two No Agenda Club meetings, in Helsinki on Monday, and Turku on Wednesday. I don't remember what happened there, but this is how I feel right now. For some reason, it feels important to share this:

Acceptance is the hardest thing. There's so much to do: The world needs saving, others need my advice, and I have to shape up.

What if I just let everything be as it is? The world is a perfect place, others are my teachers, and I am here to be fully me, nothing else. I am enough, and so is the world.

What if I just...

... don't assume or expect anything specific;
... enter every situation with awareness, accepting what is and acting from that position;
... just embrace and enjoy the abundance of life?

How would that change the way I live, and work?

Eye of the Tiger

2011-01-22T12:56:00.004+02:00

Leadership and ICT Forum got curious about motivation on January 21st. We watched Dan Pink on ted.com ==> http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html (by the way, there's another version by RSA, more visual: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc)

It seems that science tells a story about how we get motivated that's quite different from how we operate our businesses - perhaps our families as well? Why is the carrot&stick -culture so strong? Why does it persist - nobody seems to really enjoy it? Is there a hidden agenda - do we really want better results, or is it control that we're really after? If you want to control people (because you're afraid of them, perhaps), you easily see the benefits of carrot&stick. But if you respect others as they are, and want them to flower and prosper, you don't offer carrot&stick management - you offer them space to be themselves. Or, as Dan Pink puts it: Autonomy-Mastery-Purpose. Of course, responsibility comes in the same package.

After the meeting I stayed alone in the room for a while. I did some taiji movements, that's my way to calm down my body&mind.

I felt at home, being in my own center, knowing who I am and what I want - especially I noticed that I don't really need much. Anyway, I got this image in my mind: I'm a tiger; powerful, agile, beautiful, fearless, focused cat. Í felt very good, did some tiger-like moves... but then it sort of scared me - am I too strong, I have these sharp claws and teeth, I can kill? Eye of the tiger felt suddenly too sharp for my liking.

I closed my eyes for one minute, just breathing.

Eye of the tiger was closed. I was purring, being happy and relaxed. I realized that I don't need to be afraid of my strength - neither needs the jungle. I decide how I use my mental powers, my tiger-like mind; I can be a vegetarian tiger! A compassionate, friendly, loving big cat, that's sure of its powers and ability to help others - so sure, that it doesn't need to show off. A tiger that knows when to take it easy, take a nap, and really enjoy the silence of the jungle.

Will you join me? At work, don't kill a new-born idea, even if you see it has a logical deficiency. Hide you sharp claws, and help the team to develop the idea. At home, don't roar even if a teenager is driving you mad. Just purr and accept the now. Inside yourself, don't judge everything you do or don't do - you're a tiger, and cats are really good at taking things easily. Purrrrrr...

No Agenda Club Turku on 12.1.2011 - What does it mean to...

2011-01-12T20:51:00.000+02:00

We started year 2011 by asking questions - What does it mean to... We got curious about the meaning of BREATHING, BEING PRESENT, LISTENING, HAVING CONTROL, and RETURNING TO ONE'S CENTER. The replies don't really matter - we advice you to answer for yourself.

It's interesting how the question of breathing comes up so often. After all, we breathe all the time - and yet, we don't seem to do it right. Our focus is too high, we spend too much of our time in our head, and breathe only at the top of our lungs. You should breathe so that your belly gets involved, that's the advice we hear. Masters breathe in from the left leg, suck it in to the belly, and breathe out through the right leg - so I was told by an Aikido teacher. The focus is clearly lower, a very centered position.

Being present seems to be connected with this kind of "low-breathing". So is listening - you must listen with your whole body, if you want to notice and sense everything that's happening. And while you listen to others with your whole body, you must also listen to your own body - how does it feel deep down?

Having control over others seems to be in everyone's agenda, but perhaps we should only focus on controlling ourselves? After all, there are over 6 billion others on this planet, but only one me - seems like less work to make peace and get in terms with this one person.

Then we discussed stopping. Never start anything you cannot stop. Try not to start anything you don't really want. This led us to deep waters:

WHAT DO I WANT?
WHY AM I HERE?
AM I HERE?
AM I?

Merry Christmas and a flowering New Year 2011!

2010-12-23T13:40:00.004+02:00

Dear fellows of No Agenda! Another year of fun and exploration is coming to an end. What has happened during 2010?

I don't have a rational analysis of what's been going on various No Agenda Clubs or forums... but I feel the playfulness and joy of flowing together. In some groups the flow is already very light, some groups are just getting started. The process matters, not what happens in a specific meeting right now.

I'm just finishing my last details at work, and then gradually slowing down my mind to accept the silence of Christmas into my heart.

In order to stop my mind running up and down, I often play this game: I take a random book from a special shelf (it's really not a random book, since I've carefully selected certain kind of books on that particular bookshelf), then I open a random page and read a random chapter. This always works, I don't know how.

The book this time was Chungliang Al Huang's "Embrace Tiger, Return to Mountain" - a dear friend of mine for 20 years already; this book has never let me down. The chapter that wanted to be read by me, at this moment, goes like this:

"What you need is an acceptance of yourself as you are. You are like a seed. You don't know what you are going to be when spring comes - maybe a chrysanthemum, or an orchid, or maybe just a plain dandelion. Do you want to know the outcome of the flowering that much? What about simply letting yourself be during the flowering process? Be with the process and enjoy it. When the flower comes to full bloom, it is usually the last part of your life, and you're ready to return to seed. You've spent all your life looking, working, worrying, fighting for that last moment of flowering which is going to be a glorious display. Because of intellectual ideas we are always aiming towards some gorgeous flower that each of us has in mind. Most of the time we don't become that exact flower, and we are very unhappy. Life is the process, the preparing for the flowering. If seeds had goals, there wouldn't be very many flowers."

I wish you all an enjoyable flowering process!

- Pekka

No Agenda Club Turku on 3.12.2010 - surprising itself

2010-12-07T18:19:00.003+02:00

Our team is in an interesting transition – there are some newcomers, then we have some members that have been actively in the group, then faded away for a while… and now coming back. And we have some members who have been there since the beginning, still hanging around and enjoying the flow. This group has been travelling since June 2003, but it still has a tendency to surprise me - and probably other members as well.

The discussion started by itself, for me it felt like the discussion was a living thing that had been waiting for us to enter the room, so it could express itself through our bodies.

Since not everybody had met each other previously, we started by a round of introductions – which took about two hours. What did we talk about? What was the content of the discussion? I cannot describe it in detail, not in a linear fashion. It was a flow of language, gestures, energy fields moving and evolving… an enjoyable and playful dance, with deep undercurrents.

Some words that danced in the room, the ones that caught my attention and fascinated me the most: surprise, embrace, lightness, opportunity, inspiring, stop, transition, feeling, acceptance, happiness, freedom, flow, enough, opening, imagination, help, home, intent.

I have no idea where we’re heading, but I’m happy to be onboard this exploration!

- Pekka

Leadership&ICT Forum discussed University of Turku, on 19.11.2010

2010-11-19T16:04:00.003+02:00

There's a fund raising campaign going on in Turku, to support the local university. We discussed the big changes that are taking place in our society, including universities. We saw that the impact of Turku University on South-Western Finland is really big - both mentally and economically. We also remembered that the original University of Turku was taken to Helsinki in 1820-something, and we had to build another.

We discussed the "Shanghai list" where universities are ranked globally. Perhaps that's necessary, but does it also blur the core identity of universities? Should we see the university as a mental and economical engine of our region? How can we support the university in that important mission? By donating it some of our hard-earned money, yes - but perhaps also by understanding our personal role in lifting up the spirit of Turku region and the whole South-Western Finland?

No Agenda Club Helsinki wanted to talk about happiness, on 10.11.2010

2010-11-12T19:51:00.007+02:00

What makes us happy? Accepting what is, here and now - that was one suggestion. Am I not allowed to want anything - that was the reaction. We gave ourselves permission to desires, as long they're really ours, not inflicted upon us by others (like advertisers).

How do I know which desire is really mine? That's a real puzzle. Do you know what's really happening inside you?

Connect - Be active - Take notice - Keep learning - Give! Listen to Nic Marks, this might make you happy: http://tedafrica.org/talks/nic_marks_the_happy_planet_index.html

Terve! Forum (Health Forum) discussed cultures and relations on 2.11.2010

2010-11-02T13:13:00.005+02:00

We had an easy-going, no agenda -type discussion that led us to cultural change, leadership and relations.

We got especially interested in changing the focus from individuals to relations between individuals. If you want to develop the way a team or organisation works together, you must develop the "field of relations" in which the individuals interact. Developing (training, coaching) the individuals separately doesn't help - you might still be coaching individuals, but it has to happen in the context of the organisation's relations.

How do develop a field of relations? We have got used to seeing the individuals, but how can we find the relations? And if we do find them, how do we change them?

It is the language we have been using that has created the existing field of relations. Through changing the language we use we can gradually change the relations. For instance, a superior can start genuinely listening to his/her subordinates. A father can start respecting his children, and give them space to grow. An organisation can change from a "NO-culture" to a "YES-culture".

Kenneth Gergen has published a book called "Relational Being". Perhaps we need to look deeper into this matter... let's see what happens?

Leadership&ICT Forum discussed professional skills in ICT-field, on 15.10.2010

2010-10-18T10:33:00.016+03:00

We discussed which skills one would need when working in the ICT-field. It seems that the shift discussed earlier at No Agenda Club Turku (see "New Work" on this blog) is happening at the ICT-field as well?

The discussion on ICT-skills seemed to flow towards holistic thinking, working together, dialogue skills, listening to others, being agile and creative, understanding the big picture and long-term business benefits etc. This is not to say that "hard" technical skills wouldn't be needed anymore. It just seems that those skills aren't enough. ICT-services are something that flows from humans to humans, and you cannot operate on that flow by focusing only on technical matters.

See our picture, a humble attempt to summarize what was discussed...

No Agenda Club Helsinki on 5.10.2010

2010-10-07T16:00:00.006+03:00

One of the most playful sessions ever. "Give me one word" results: BREAK EXPERIENCE - SWELLING - FEELING OF CONTROL - EMPTINESS - PRESENCE - BEARPOWER - VALUE SOCIETY - CHANGEPOWER - CURIOSITY.

I was most struck by "bearpower" - a very strong and powerful fellow, who goes to sleep for the winter. You could imagine he/she would want to bully around, show off his muscles, but no - she knows when to stop, when to rest.

We created two other lists: Value list and Futile list. First, Values list: PLAYFULLNESS - FREEDOM OF CHOICE - OWN VALUES, OWN DIGNITY - OWN DIRECTION - JOY - BEING HUMAN - LOVE - PURPOSE - TRUE TO ONESELF - LETTING GO - SLEEPING.

... and what is futile in life: FOLLOWING OTHERS' DIRECTIONS - COMPETITION - PRESSURE - CYNICISM - BLIND DOINGNESS - EVENING/WEEKEND EMAILS - GIVING UP - FAKING - MASKS - ROLES.

Terve! Forum (Health Forum) discussed new financing alternatives on 7.10.2010

2010-10-07T13:41:00.003+03:00

We had an energetic meeting, again. We started, as usual, with "give me one word". See picture, translation here: BRIGHT - TURN - FUELING - DRIVE - ORGANIZE - PLENTY - DETERMINED TO CHANGE - WHEEL - PRESENCE - STOP! - BIG WAVE - SURPRISE.

Our speaker was taken ill and we couldn't listen to his presentation, so we decided to browse though the report and discuss it anyway. It seems that we need a big shift, not just in how we finance health care, but how we see health and sickness, life and death?

Some words that made me curious: holistic - we need to see health care as a holistic system; proactive - we need to turn our focus towards proactive care, helping people to live in a healthy way; responsibility - even if we were centralizing financing, we're decentralizing responsibility, every individual has to take responsibility of the way one lives and make choices regarding the health services they use.

Enjoy the moment, and live in a healthy way!

- Pekka

NAC Turku on 1.10.2010 - "New Work"

2010-10-01T18:17:00.004+03:00

We started by "give me one word" -exercise. Words emerged, describing our current state of mind: BODY-LIFE-CURIOUS-JOY- SOUL-STOP-CARE-BALANCE-TIME-JOB-FREE-CLARITY.

After that, we had a great discussion around "New Work". Or New Life? Perhaps we're moving towards a more social and innovative way of working? We spend a bigger proportion of our working time together with others, creating something new - and quite often the situation is quite complex and full of uncertainty. Working alone, according to a detailed plan, repeating something and knowing exactly how to do it and what the outcome will be... there will be less of that. There's more to be discussed and decided on the spot, since bosses don't have the whole picture anymore (did they ever?). "Old" thinking is co-existing with "new", it's hard to tell what's really happening - perhaps many things at the same time.

Thank you for this moment together. Live and work in peace, the old or new way :-)

Leadership&ICT Forum discussed Lean on 17.9.2010

2010-09-19T11:52:00.009+03:00

We went into Lean-thinking, with special emphasis on the concept of "eliminating waste". What is waste - in my life, at my work? In other words, what should I say NO to, in order to make space to YES - to those things that really matter?

An ice-hockey player, entering the Finnish league and not knowing exactly how the game is played here, said: "I play as simply as I can, and don't do anything futile." This sounds like a good approach in ice-hockey, but also in life and at the working place? Perhaps this is a good interpretation of "eliminating waste"?

So, what is futile in your life? Or work? Are you ready to let go of that?

We did an exercice on this - everyone was urged to give one word describing something he/she sees as waste. See picture (in Finnish, translation here): FEAR - LIMITING ATTITUDES/BELIEFS - SAYING "SHOULD" - EGO - BEING BUSY - MEETINGS - EVERYTHING THAT DOESN'T SHOW AN EFFECT TO THE CUSTOMER... and EVERYTHING.

The last remarks is astounding. Everything is waste, before proven otherwise.

Perhaps this is a good starting point? What if you questioned everything you do? Then you would restart doing those things that clearly are needed by your customers... leaving behind everything that doesn't pass the "waste-test".

In short: (1) Recognize your customer and the problem that needs solving, (2) Do only things that help in solving the problem, and (3) Do those things particularly well.

The same thing applies in your whole life; who are your "customers" (people that matter), and what is essential in your relationships? What is essential for you? Everything else is waste, let it go.

Have a nice day - don't waste it!

Terve! Forum (Health Forum) entering this blog...

2010-09-09T16:49:00.014+03:00

We have started a new forum called Terve! ("terve" in Finnish has two meanings: "hello" and "healthy" - perhaps carrying a hidden meaning of social relations being an important part of healthy living).

It is for people working in the health and well-being sector, broadly speaking and without any strict limitations. We are looking for a role-free and fresh approach, aiming for a holistic picture of the health sector, and hopefully introducing a new culture of dialogue to this field.

We had a direction setting meeting on 7.9.2010, discussing the nature of our forum. We approached this dilemma through three questions:

(1) What kind of a forum would you want for our first autumn and winter?

In other words, what brings these people to the forum? Some answers from our discussion:
- exciting presentations, not seminar-like but something to light up the conversation
- the group itself is interesting, regardless of the topic at hand
- people, when they leave out their roles and expectations
- the whole process that is creating a common field of trust
- trusting the group; relying on our own cabability and knowledge to be interesting enough
- open and high-quality dialogue
- skill of listening; without genuine listening there's no dialogue
- relaxed way to discuss important issues
- international speakers, perhaps via internet (live or recordings)
- sister forums interacting would open up our local thinking

(2) What will the Terve! Forum look like 3 years from now?
- a place where you can bring up important issues to be explored together
- no role-plays, people are as they are
- the forum doesn't have any inner organisation or ranking between members; and still it works
- we have a blog that helps people to see the whole field, how it's doing and what's happening
- the energy of this forum is so interesting that others want to join us
- genuine meeting place, genuine people
- freedom!

(3) What will you be doing 5 years from now? Just one word that describes your gut feeling...

Interesting replies came out of this discussion... none of the key words are about hard work or doing, as you will see: BALANCED - CREATIVE - HAPPY - CHANGING - INSPIRED - PEACEFUL.

Why wait for 5 years? You can change your inner space right now - in fact, it can only happen now.

NAC Hki 6.9.2010

2010-09-09T12:23:00.008+03:00

Energy level: high, but calm. Thinking: sharp, but compassionate. The results of our opening "give me one word" -exercise: (translated from the picture) HUG - NOISE - OPPOSITION - TRANSFER - PEACE - LONGING - JIGSAW PUZZLE - BASIS FOR GROWTH - COMMUNICATION+
We talked about... well, many things. It's hard to pinpoint how it went and which thought followed or caused another. A few points that made me curious:

How to turn my approach from ! to ?

Being tired is a misunderstanding of how the universe works. I'm tired because I have closed the connection, and trying to control things. If I open myself, I have direct access to the abundant universal energy flow.

How do I tap into my inner source of energy, my inner space? How do I run my life, instead of letting others run it?

Do I need a peaceful outer environment (for Finns, this usually means a forest with many trees and no other humans) to be peaceful inside? Or could I be in peace regardless what's happening around me? Where does my peace come from?

An amateur always wins the professional, since the amateur is doing it for fun. Therefore, his energy channels are open.

Tapio also gave us some insight about the social media. It seems that it doesn't really differ from the "real world"? The same rules of life apply everywhere: you have to know who you are, what you want and whom you trust. And there's no 100% certainty - whatever you decide to do, you cannot control the events. Whether you decide to enjoy or fear this uncertainty, is your decision. And this decision shapes your life - first or Second Life.

- Pekka

Hugging mission

2010-09-03T12:33:00.007+03:00

Something great happened in our family, and I want to share it:

We have these 9-year-old twin-boys, Pyry and Joel. Yesterday morning, when they were leaving for school, I was standing by the door, spreading my arms and shouting "hug first, then school!" - I do this every morning, unless I have been forced to leave earlier than the boys. Joel (left in the picture) felt he was in a hurry, and asked: "really dad, do we have to hug... we're gonna be late?". I said "it doesn't matter, hugging is the primary mission of our family, everything else comes after that".

Joel stops, he's silent for a while, really puzzled: "More important than school? Hugging is more important than school?" I say yes, and Joel jumps to me and we hug a long long hug, no worries and hurries about going to school. Pyry, who has been listening, hugs me the same way, and so does my wife! I feel something shifting, my heart feels light.

Now everyone in our family is repeating "hugging is the primary mission of this family". We're much clearer about who we are, and that feels good. I think this might be a good mission statement for organizations as well? What if you based your whole business on hugging; caring about your colleagues, customers and partners? What if all your thinking and action would be guided by compassion?

Leadership&ICT Forum joining in...

2010-08-20T11:14:00.006+03:00

Leadership&ICT Forum has been running since 2005. We’ve been focusing on business and ICT management, and moved gradually towards self-leadersip issues, meaning of life –discussions and other No Agenda –stuff. Our history can be seen from our old blog: http://thj-foorumi.blogspot.com

We are joining this shared blog because it makes us curious. It will be interesting to see what themes and topics circulate in these four groups. Perhaps some day we will have a NAC-community that is sharing more than just a blog?

In our first meeting after the summer holidays the following key words surfaced – this is how we feel at the moment: DOCTORAL THESIS, ALL IS WELL, SATISFACTION, EASYGOING, ONE THING AT A TIME, REWARDING MYSELF, RELATIONAL INTELLIGENCE.

It seems that the summer warmth has done good things. People resonated calmness and easygoing strength - autumn is approaching but the light stays within us.

Greetings to all – enjoy this energetic time of year, when the summer is getting ripe and then turns into a colorful early autumn.

- Pekka

No Agenda Club Jyväskylä; starting with these thoughts

2010-08-09T12:17:00.011+03:00

Some thoughts from our first meeting... key words on our minds: SPRING TURMOIL, CONFUSION, SUMMER VACATION, STREAM, DESCEND, OWN SKIN.

Some comments from our discussions:
Quite luxurious, being able to come here... I'm also feeling a bit quilty. Irritated to myself?
Do I have time for this...
Anarchist is enjoying, this is a small mutiny :-)
How does this differ from a sauna evening, before we're drunk?
The art of descending, or stopping, might be in the core of professionalism?
What is efficiency? Or effectiveness?
Can one be present, if the hard disk is already full?
Why are we present to our customers, but not to our children at home?
Do I have to be present always and in every situation? Should I choose my focus points?
The art of being absent is equally important! It's good to be alone...
The most important meeting of the day is when you come home from work and meet your family - be fully present!
What if I just let go...

A nice flow, easy-going and effortless exploration of what's important and what isn't. I'm looking forward to our learning journey! - Pekka

No Agenda Club Helsinki; meeting on June 28th

2010-08-09T11:22:00.014+03:00

An energetic and sunny meeting, our key words in English: CHOICE - WELLBEING AT WORK - WARMTH - iHONESTY - SCRATCH - LIMITLESS - MISSING PIECE - ACT! - DARING - iSTYLE - INBOXZERO - VACATION.

Some comments from our discussion:
If you cannot lead yourself, you cannot lead others.
Why in every conversation we need to have "the correct answer"?
Everything is self-inflicted.
Choose your mental tapes, don't identify with them.
Pain of letting go - or joy?
Must life/work always be hard?
Idleness leads to innovation.
Face-to-face with no agenda is our main thing, but a shared blog with the other No Agenda groups might be interesting to try?
Talking shit fertilizes the soil, growth needs that.
Fun is fun, there's no shame in it - even at the workplace.
Stopping and having a direction setting meeting every 6 months is a good practice, let's do it.

We had a visitor from Oulu, considering to start an own No Agenda Club there - she asked us "what makes you come here?" A good question, here are some of our replies: practicing beingness, the people, filtering of meaning, nourishment and space, opportunity to happiness, new attitudes to structures.

Enjoy the sunny August - the summer isn't over, even if your summer vacation might be! - Pekka

Leaders Forum is joining into this blog and changing its name into "No Agenda Club Turku"

2010-08-06T13:26:00.014+03:00

We started Leaders Forum in Turku in June 2003. See blog http://leadersforumgoodtimers.blogspot.com

Since that, some other forums, or No Agenda Clubs as we've started to call them, have been born. Some of them have a more focused agenda, like ICT-management or healthcare, and some are No Agenda. Each group has a private LinkedIn Group for its internal discussion, but if a group wants to publish something, it will be put into this blog - in English, even if some groups speak Finnish. Our aim is to have less of separate group-blogs, and more insights flooding over group-limits.

Today we met with Leaders Forum, and decided to change its name into No Agenda Club Turku, or NAC Turku. This tells more about the group today. We may have some predefined topics, if someone has an idea and wants to promote it, but we're quite happy with our flow of spontaneous dialogue.

Today, we started our come-back from summer holidays by telling what's on our mind, and summarizing our present state of mind into one word per participant. The words (in Finnish), are on the picture, here's the translation:

TURMOIL - PEACE&LOVE - FREEDOM - PARADOX - GRATITUDE - BALANCE - LIGHT - MODERATION - iSTYLE (meaning my own style).

We discussed a lot about fundamentalism - religious, political, personal fixed attitudes etc. Everyone lives in some sort of a bubble, drawing a line between "us" and "them" - our beliefs and theirs.

Is my bubble based on fear or joy? What am I fundamental about - in other words: which of my thoughts are locked? How can I unlock them? Am I free to choose, can I leave my bubble if I want to? And what happens then - just another bubble?

I am honored and grateful to travel with you, thank you so much for all I've learned during the past years... and will learn on our ongoing journey together!

- Pekka

YES/No practice; get clear of what you want more - and what you want to have less to make space for the YES to happen

2010-08-05T16:10:00.004+03:00

My YES goes to…

1. CHOOSING – I make my own choices, remembering who I am and what I want.

2. TAKING RESPONSIBILITY – I take full responsibility of my choices; also the things I choose to leave out of my life.

3. WALKING FREELY MY OWN PATH – I listen to others, but I choose my own path and the people I walk with.

My NO goes to…

1. WORRYING – I don’t worry about the future, I focus on the present moment

2. COMPETING – I don’t compare myself with others, I try to be free of any kind of ranking

3. HURRYING – I don’t respond to the invitations of hurry, I take command of my mind and remain still.

How does your YES/NO -list look like?

Enjoy your summer!

2010-06-30T13:15:00.003+03:00

I'm starting my summer holiday NOW. If you're not doing that yet, I wish you resilience - your turn will come soon.

Here's a good farewell-to-work video - or a kick-off when returning back to work. So, first day at work after holidays, here's your agenda: have a look at the Necktie movie, meditate for a while and then take a nap. On your second day, if you feel up to it... have a look at your email(?)

==> http://www.boxofcrayons.biz/2010/06/the-necktie-why-you-want-to-do-more-great-work

Enjoy your summer - no, that's not enough, do something bigger: enjoy this moment :-)

- Pekka

A story of building trust and searching for meaning

2010-05-24T15:13:00.003+03:00

No Agenda Club was an experiment I started together with Chris Evatt and Jukka Suuniitty – we shared the need for more energy. It all started from the question “what is really important?” We started to wonder what would happen, if all the meetings and all the working hours weren’t so tightly planned and controlled. We discussed some business seminars we had participated, and had to admit that the pauses when people could freely discuss the meaning of the presentations were the most valuable part.

What if the pauses would be in the centre of the seminar? What if the presentations were short, and pauses long? Or what if there were no presentations, juts freedom to share ideas? What might happen, if you forced busy people to meet, with no predefined agenda or goal?

We decided to test it first on ourselves. We met for two years, once a month. There was only one rule: no predefined agenda. Come with an empty mind. We called our experiment the “No Agenda Club”. We had refound our source of energy. We wanted to share our discovery, and started some No Agenda Clubs, or forums. (For example, see http//:leadersforumgoodtimers.blogspot.com)

What is the core of these clubs or forums? We are practising the old skill of open, or spacious dialogue. We create an environment where there’s a lot of space: Space to talk. Space to listen. Space to be silent. Space to reflect. Space to be oneself. In this space, if you nurture it and give it a chance, good things start to happen.

Later I found inside me a need to write a book on No Agenda Clubs. I wanted to understand what was happening, what was essential. Especially I was interested in what was important and energizing for the members - which topics would they choose to talk about, after all they had total freedom to take the discussion to any direction?

No-one ever wanted to talk about excel-sheets, powerpoints, or any rigid plans. Money was touched on sometimes, but quite often it lead to comments like this: “Money is just a by-product of meaningful activity. If you focus on money, there will never be enough. If you want a lot of money, forget it and focus on meaning and the people.”

The words that seemed to resonate with the members and raise the energy level the most were Respect – Trust - Presence. And later, when the groups had really integrated and surrendered one more word surfaced: Stillness.

So many questions are whizzing around in my head. Here’s a collection of the ones that, at this moment, energize me the most. It seems that it ’s getting increasingly easy to find people who resonate with these questions – I can find these people everywhere.

Space consciousness; how to sense the space within me, and make use of that in daily life? How do you establish respect, trust and presence? Why are we all so tired? How to live a meaningful life, and do meaningful work? What is really important, and what is not? What do people want to talk about, if there’s space to choose? Why don’t we have that space? Should we just take it? Where has JOY disappeared? Working spaciously - what about my responsibility? Is leadership always about going faster? Could it be about stopping first, if the direction must be re-evaluated? What does spaciousness mean in a project environment like ours? How would you support the start-up and of a No Agenda Club inside an organisation? How do you keep it going? How can you measure the benefits of No Agenda Clubs – or can you?

NoAgendaClub Twitter is born...

2010-05-14T11:07:00.005+03:00

... I started a new experiment, a Twitter account by the name NoAgendaClub. Let's see where it goes, and how it relates to this blog? I'm wondering whether I should change the language of this blog into English? And what is the difference between a blog and a twitter? Is twitter just a blog with short (140 letters max) entries?

Anyway, if you're interested, see http://twitter.com/NoAgendaClub - it's also visible on this blog.

Ei Mitään

2010-04-01T15:02:00.004+03:00

Vietämme perheen kanssa Pääsiäistä Ylläksen Tapojoella. Yöjunalla pohjoiseen, aamulla kolkuttelemme vielä pari tuntia kohti Kolaria. Kollegalta tulee tekstiviesti: ”… olen lähdössä tekemään ei mitään Pohjanmaan lakeuksille ystäväni luo”.

Lueskelen parhaillaan Anna Bornsteinin kirjaa ”Arkipäivän psykologiaa buddhalaisittain”. Samalla hetkellä kuin sain tekstiviestin, olin seuraavassa kohdassa:

"Kantavana periaatteena buddhalaisessa ihmis- ja maailmankuvassa on muutos. Maailmankaikkeudessa ei ole mitään kiinteää lepopaikkaa eikä mitään ehdottomia rajoja. Kaikki on jatkuvassa liikkeessä. Kaikki ilmiöt liittyvät sekä toisiinsa että tajuntaan, joka kokee ne. Ei ole mitään rajaa, joka erottaisi toisistaan tajunnan ja materian, maan ja taivaan tai luonnollisessa egoistisessa tilassaan olevan ihmisen ja valaistuneen Buddhan. Tämä maailma kantaa sisimmässään taivasten valtakunnan siementä, ja ihmisen kaikkein alkeellisimmat vaistot ovat sitä materiaalia alkuperäisimmillään, josta Buddhaluonnon universaalit ominaisuudet jalostetaan."

… ja parin sivun päästä jatkuu näin:

"Buddhan visio oli tajunnan ja energian täyttämä maailmankaikkeus, jossa kieppuu lukemattomia maailmoja, jokainen niistä koostuu niissä olevien olentojen ajatus-, tahto- ja tunnemateriaalista. Ne sankarit, jotka ottavat vastaan haasteen oppia tuntemaan oman psyykensä ja muuntamaan sen voimia, huomaavat, että myös heidän maailmansa muuttuu vastaavalla tavalla."

Ei Mitään on vaativa, mutta myös palkitseva laji, jota uskaliaimmat elämän oppijat harrastavat. Toivotan Sinulle Pääsiäistä, jonka tapahtumia ja tunnelmia ohjaa Ei Mitään. Ehkä samalla mielen maisemalla voisi jatkaa elämää Pääsiäisen jälkeenkin?

Työn ja elämän tasapaino... puppua!

2010-03-23T21:11:00.003+02:00

Monet puhuvat työn ja elämän tasapainosta, pelkään että tarkoittaen 50/50 -jakoa? Että työ ja elämä (vapaa-aika, perhe, ystävät, oma itse) olisivat yhtä tärkeitä.

Elämä voi olla mielekästä ilman työtäkin, tai hyvin vähällä työnteolla. Työstä taas ei saa mielekästä ilman elämää, jonka palveluksessa työ on.

Elämä on isäntä/emäntä, työ on renki. Kun tämän saa selkeäksi, alkaa elämä maistua. Ja kohta alkaa työkin maistua - kunhan ensin lopetamme kaiken puuhan, joka ei palvele elämää. Syntyneeseen tyhjään tilaan astuu mielekäs elämä, ja mielekäs työ.

Kilpailemattomuuskyky

2010-03-12T22:33:00.005+02:00

Kilpailukyvystä toitotetaan koko ajan, sekä yksilöiden, organisaatioiden että kansakuntien odotetaan kilpailevan toisensa henkihieveriin. Ehkä tarvitsemme tasapainottajaksi myös kilpailemattomuuskykyä - malttia olla kilpailematta, viisautta nähdä elämä muustakin kuin kamppailun näkökulmasta.

Kumpaa leijona tekee enemmän, metsästää saalista vai viettää aikaa lauman parissa, ruokaansa sulatellen? Onko elämä elonjäämiskamppailua vai yhdessäolosta nautiskelua? Varmasti kumpaakin, mutta kumpi on määräävä näkökulma?

Tämä on valintakysymys: sellainen elämä, millainen tulokulma.

Harjoitus: etsi elämästäsi jokin kamppailuasetelma; pomon, alaisen, puolison, teini-ikäisen, uhmaikäisen, vanhempien, naapurin kanssa. Tai uskomuksen, uskonnon, ideologian, valtavirran kulttuurin, miehen/naisen mallin kanssa. Varmasti löydät esimerkin, ehkä useitakin. Tarkastele kiireettömästi, ulkopuolelta ja kiihkottomasti tuota taisteluparia: sinä vs. X.

Kaiken pinnalla tapahtuvan kohkaamisen alla on itse konflikti, toisiaan kiihkoon yllyttävät energiavirrat. Näetkö, miten ne nousevat toisiaan vastaan, saavat toisistaan energiaa, ovat olemassa toisistaan? Mistä siinä TODELLA on kyse? Uskallatko katsoa niin suoraan, että näet sen?

Kysymys: Haluatko lopettaa tämän vastakkainasettelun?

Ei se yksin minusta kiinni ole, saatat vastata. Mutta olet väärässä. Jos lakkaat odottamasta sen toisen osapuolen avausta, ja sen sijaan etsit itse uuden tulokulman, valuu kaikki konfliktia ylläpitävä energia kuin vesi hanhen selästä. Jos sinä lopetat kilpailemisen, ei toiselle jää mitään kilpailtavaa - ainakaan sinun kanssasi. Hän joko tajuaa sen tai ei; molemmissa tapauksissa sinä olet vapaa.

Naurettava harjoitus

2010-03-04T19:12:00.005+02:00

(klikkaa kuvaa, niin saat sen suuremmaksi)

Oliko tänään tiukka päivä töissä? Ehkä käsitit väärin, ehkä siinä palaverissa ei ollutkaan niin vakavasta asiasta kyse? Entä jos olisit ollut täysin läsnä, vapaana pelosta? Ehkä olisit havainnut, että siellä olisi ollut tilaa naurulle?

Kevät on tulollaan, valo voittaa alaa. Katso ympärillesi, katso sisääsi ja huomaa: ILO on syvin olemuksesi.

Mukavaa ja energistä kevään alkua :-)

Päivän harjoitus kirjasta: sano EI

2010-01-26T08:29:00.004+02:00

Pohdi, mille asioille ja ihmisille haluat sanoa kiihkeästi KYLLÄ. Mene ja sano se, heittäydy intohimoisesti valitsemiisi asioihin. Kaikelle muulle opettele sanomaan kohteliaasti ja päättäväisesti EI KIITOS. Elämääsi ja työhösi alkaa tulla tilaa ja selkeyttä. Mahdut olemaan oma itsesi, ja toteuttamaan omat unelmasi.

(klikkaa viereistä kuvaa, niin saat tekstin suuremmaksi)

Mukavaa matkaa vuodelle 2010; Tao Te Ching, luku 27, käännös Steven Mitchell

2009-12-31T14:41:00.000+02:00

A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever it wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.

Thus the Master is available to all people
and doesn't reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn't waste anything.
This is called embodying the light.

What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?
What is a bad man but a good man's job?
If you don't understand this, you will get lost,
however intelligent you are.
It is the great secret.

Ilovihko

2009-11-21T19:26:00.005+02:00

Opin eilen asiakkaalta jotain arvokasta - taas kerran, kiitos kaikille asiakkailleni. Hyvin yksinkertainen juttu: ILOVIHKO. Nimi kertoo kaiken, se on vihko jonne kirjataan kaikki ilonaiheet, onnistumiset, oivalluksen hetket ja mukavat tapaamiset.

Murhevihkoa ei tarvita, niistä kun muistetaan muutenkin puhua. Mutta onko sinun työpaikallasi ilovihkoa? Entä kotonasi? Tai mielesi pohjukassa, huomaatko olla iloinen?

Vieressä ote kirjasta No Agenda Club. Siinä on yksi harjoitus, joka voisi auttaa ilovihkon käyttöönotossa. Lupaan itse kokeilla sitä, nyt syksyn pimeydessä sitä tarvitaan!

Valo syksyn pimeässä

2009-11-12T17:07:00.004+02:00

Istun takkatulen ääressä, talo huoahtaa, mieleni hiljenee.
Liekit humisevat, ja minä huomaan: kaikki on hyvin.
Ei pelkoa. Vain tämä hetki.

Edelläpysähtyjä

2009-10-07T12:10:00.005+03:00

Jaan välähdyksen keskustelusta kollegojeni kanssa...

Moninaisten polkujen kautta keskustelumme kulkeutuu edelläkävijyyteen, siihen mitä tarkoittaa johtajuus ja muista poikkeava ote omassa konsultointityössä. Samalla kun edelläkävijänä oleminen tuntuu houkuttelevalta ajatukselta, siinä on rankkojakin sävyjä - jaksanko ja haluanko kantaa sellaista taakkaa, olisi kiva nukkuakin välillä, viettää aikaa perheen kanssa, olla oma itsensä, kuntoilla ja harrastaa?

Jostain läsnäolevien mielten välimaastosta putkahtaa esiin sana EDELLÄPYSÄHTYJÄ. Ehkä tosi johtajuutta ja ammattitaitoa onkin se, että pysähtyy ensimmäisenä? Hiljentää tahtia, väljentää kalenteria, etsii itselleen sopivan suunnan ja tahdin? Joskus täytyy pysähtyä, jotta näkisi selvemmin tilanteensa ja ympäristönsä - ja pääsisi mielekkäällä tavalla uuteen liikkeeseen.

Millainen tilanne Sinulla on juuri nyt, elämässäsi tai työssäsi? Liittyykö johtajuuteesi ja edelläkävijyyteesi juuri nyt pysähtymisen, hiljentymisen ja suunnan muutoksen elementtejä? Olisitko sillä tavalla itsellesi ja ympäristöllesi suuremmaksi avuksi?

Tarvitsemme Tussaa

2009-09-26T08:25:00.004+03:00

Jaan kuulemani tarinan: sisarukset keskustelevat pöydän ääressä, isosisko jo koulussa, pikkuveli omaansa aloittelemassa. Siskolla on lukujärjestys, jota veli tutkailee ja ihmettelee. Kyselee erilaisia lyhennyksiä ja niiden merkitystä, saa vastauksia. - Mikäs tämä hissa on, mitä siellä opetetaan? Saa vastauksen, jatkaa taas tutkimista. Tutkii pitkään, rypistää otsaansa ja lopulta tokaisee hämmentyneenä: - Entäs tussa, eikö siellä koulussa opeteta ollenkaan tulevaisuutta?

Äiti kirjoittaa keskustelun muistiin ja ottaa yhteyden Opetusministeriöön...

Mitä me aikuiset oikein puuhaamme? Pitäisikö lasten päättää, mitä koulussa opetetaan? Miksi emme opeta lapsille tulevaisuutta - tai oikeastaan keskustele avoimesti siitä, ja kuuntele mitä heillä on siitä sanottavaa?

Jaan toisen tarinan, oman perheeni keittiön pöydän ääreltä. Äiti oli matkoilla, ja minä olin illan vastuussa 8-vuotiaiden kaksospoikiemme hoidosta. Kun iltapalan aika tuli, pojat tuumasivat että "nyt meillä onkin joulu". Minä sitä ihmettelemään, että mitenkäs se nyt noin nopeasti tuli. - Iskä, sammutat valot, pistät kynttilän pöytään, me syödään muroja. Ja sinä istut meidän kanssa juttelemassa, etkä mene tietokoneelle.

Näin helppoa on järjestää lapsille Joulu. Seuraavana iltana teimme saman, äitikin pääsi mukaan.

Eilisellä jouluaterialla (niitä samoja muroja) pojat keskustelivat tussasta: - Ihmiset voi keksiä uusia laitteita, vaikka lentävän auton. - Mitä turhia, teleportti on parempi, kun koulu loppuu niin siitä vaan teleportin kautta kotiin läksyjä tekemään.

Kun kerroin tussasta Leaders Forumin aamiaisella (siis aikuisille), tuli jatkoehdotus: tussan lisäksi pitää opettaa pussaa eli ihmissuhdetaitoja, vuorovaikutusta, dialogia, kykyä tuntea ja näyttää tunteita, ahdistuksen ja pelon käsittelytaitoja, mielenhallintaa, meditaatiota, itsen ja muiden aitoa kuuntelemista. Ihan tavallista hyvänä ihmisenä olemista.

Millaiset koulut, sellainen tulevaisuus.

Raipe Helminen

2009-08-22T14:35:00.027+03:00

Kun perheemme arjessa intensiteetti nousee yli sietorajan ja alamme vaimoni kanssa ryntäillä edestakaisin, on meillä tapana muistuttaa toiselle: "Raipe".

Tämä tapa syntyi Raipe Helmisen peliuran loppupuolella. Raipe tuntui olevan aina oikeassa paikassa ja tietävän tarkalleen missä muut pelaajat ja kiekko olivat - ja ennen kaikkea: missä omat ja vastustajat sekä kiekko tulisivat olemaan 2-3 syötön päästä. Ja Raipe, vaikkei enää ollutkaan kentän nopein kiituri, ehti hienosti aina oikeaan paikkaan. Tuloksena maali toisensa perään - useimmiten syötön kautta, sillä Raipe mestaroi koko peliä eikä pyrkinyt tekemään maalejaan itse.

Nuoremmat pelaajat sen sijaan kiitivät vauhdilla, saivat kolhuja ja olivat useimmiten tilanteista hieman myöhässä. He vasta etsivät omaa pelisilmäänsä - ehkä sen kehittyminen vaatii joitain törmäilyvuosia.

Omassa arjessamme ja työssämme meillä on jatkuvasti kiire, tai kiireen tuntu. Emme tunnu ehtivän millään kaikkea, haluaisimme olla nopeampia ja tehokkaampia. Sitä paitsi vaikuttaa siltä, että pelin tempo on kiihtymässä - ehkä se on vain vaikutelma?

Ympäristömme tuottaa jatkuvasti tapahtumia ja ärsykkeitä, joihin pitäisi reagoida aina vain nopeammin. Kokemattoman pelaajan reaktio on luistella kovempaa, olla nopeampi. Tätä nopeutta voisi kutsua reaktiiviseksi nopeudeksi; jotain tapahtuu yllättäen, minä reagoin siihen mahdollisimman nopeasti ja tehokkaasti.

Raipen nopeus on kuitenkin toista lajia - toki hänkin tuli pelissä yllätetyksi, mutta selvästi harvemmin kuin muut. Ehkä Raipen nopeutta voisi kutsua proaktiiviseksi nopeudeksi, ennalta näkemisen taidoksi? Peliin voi joko yrittää reagoida - aina hieman myöhässä, tai aistia ennalta pelin luonne ja kulku. Toki reaktiivistakin nopeutta tarvitaan. Kokeneillekin sattuu yllätyksiä, kaikkea ei voi ennakoida. Mutta ehkä meidän olisi suunnattava pääosa huomiostamme ennakoinnin, selkeän havaitsemisen ja mielen valppauden kehittämiseen?

Pysähdy hetkeksi, hengitä rauhallisesti ja anna mielesi hiljentyä. Pystytkö näkemään, mikä kiekon pomppu ja vastustajan harhautus on turha? Näetkö, mitkä tapahtumat vievät huomiosi ja energiasi väärään suuntaan? Entä pystytkö näkemään sen kohdan elämäsi pelikentällä, jossa sinua kohta todella tarvitaan? Mitä jos luistelisit sinne kaikessa rauhassa, ennen kuin sinne tulee kiire?

t. Pekka

Lomaltapaluuharjoitus - naura itsellesi, se helpottaa!

2009-07-26T22:48:00.013+03:00

Tervehdys!

Vaikka kesä on vielä voimissaan, jotkut saattavat olla jo palailemassa työn pariin. Ajattelin sen vuoksi nostaa esiin toisen harjoituksen kirjasta, sivulta 93. (klikkaa viereistä sivun kuvaa, niin saat sen isommaksi ja helpommaksi lukea)

Kysymyksiä lomaltapalaajalle: Aiotko jatkaa samaan tyyliin, vai haluatko itsellesi erilaisen työvuoden? Juuri nyt, ennen kuin avaat sähköpostisi loman jälkeen ja annat työrytmin taas imaista sinut, sinulla on tilaisuus päättää uudenlaisesta asenteesta ja uudenlaisista rutiineista. Entä jos et ottaisi työtäsi niin vakavasti kuin viime vuonna teit? Mitä jos hylkäisit "vakavasti otettavan ammattilaisen" naamion ja kohtaisit asiakkaasi ja kollegasi omana itsenäsi, avoimella ja myötätuntoisella mielellä? Olisiko se sittenkin ammattimaisempaa? Tuottaisiko rentous sittenkin paremman tuloksen?

Toivon saavani aikaan keskustelua väljästi elämisen teemoista, toivon siis kommenttejanne ja keskustelunavauksianne. Kristiina jo tarttuikin ensimmäiseen harjoitukseen koskien mielen rauhoittamista, kiitos siitä. Jatkan kirjassa esiintyvien harjoitusten tiputtelua, toivon saavani treenikavereita väljän elämän kuntosalille.

Terveisin Pekka, vielä viikon verran lomalla :-)

Bongaa Guru -tapahtuma Taiteiden Yössä 21.8.

2009-06-12T11:49:00.004+03:00

http://images.talentum.com/kirjakauppa/julkistamistilaisuudet/bongaa_guru/kutsu2009.html

Huomasitko tämän, linkki myös oikean reunan linkkiluettelossa? Ehkä on mahdollista linkittää No Agendan ajatuksia laajempiin yhteyksiin, saa nähdä?

Terveisin Pekka

No Agenda Café 23.5.2009

2009-05-25T11:30:00.029+03:00

Juhlimme kirjan varpajaisia, ja samalla 50 ja ½ -vuotissynttäreitäni, kotonamme Raisiossa. Kutsuttuna oli No Agenda Clubin ja eri foorumien jäseniä, kirjan teossa auttaneita ja muuten vaan samalla aallonpituudella resonoivia ihmisiä.

We opened the No Agenda Café to celebrate the new book, and my 50 plus ½ years. We invited No Agenda Club and forum members, people who helped to get the book finished, and other like-minded people.

Oppi-isäni Chris Evatt, joka on ollut mukana perustamassa No Agenda Clubia ja Leaders Forumeita. Välissämme seisova nuori mies on poikani Pyry, jolta olen myös oppinut paljon.

My mentor and dear friend Chris Evatt, co-founder of No Agenda Club and Leaders Forums. The young man between us is Pyry, who also has taught me a lot.

Tunnelma oli tiivis, mutta samalla väljä. Keskustelut olivat kiihkeitä, mutta samalla leppoisia. Juhlien juuri alettua iski mahtava ukkonen, jonka ristimme "muutostuuleksi". Jotkut juhlijat liittyivät seuraamme virtuaalisesti, kuten pöydällä olevasta tekniikasta näkyy. Mm. kolmas alkuperäisen No Agenda Clubin perustajista, Jukka Suuniitty, piipahti olohuoneessamme tällä tavoin.

The atmosphere was intense, but at the same time spacious. The discussions were passionate, but at the same time easy-going. Just after the party started a thunder hit on us, we named it "the wind of change". Some participated virtually, as you can see from the equipment on the table. One of them was Jukka Suuniitty, the third founder of the original No Agenda Club.

Tästä ei elämä parane. Vanhemmiltani ja appivanhemmiltani saamani "ideaparkki" on täydessä käytössä. Kainalossa perheen todelliset idealingot, Pyry ja Joel.

Life doesn't get any better than this. My parents and my wife's parents gave me this "ideapark". The real ideagenerators of our family are beside me, Pyry and Joel.

Tilaisuuden jälkeen, kun vieraat olivat lähteneet, istuimme Chrisin kanssa kameran eteen ja muistelimme No Agenda Clubin alkuaikoja (kuvan laatu ei ole paras mahdollinen, valitan). Katso linkkilista oikeassa reunassa.

After the event, when the quests had gone, Chris and I sat down to reflect upon the early days of No Agenda Club (the quality of the picture isn't very good, sorry). See the list of interesting links on the right.

Kiitos kaikille, eläkää väljästi! Thank you everyone, live and flow easily!

Kiireestä kantapäähän

2009-05-20T12:45:00.012+03:00

Kirja on nyt saatavilla, ja haluan käynnistää keskustelua blogilla. Toivon, ettei minun tarvitse kovin pitkään kirjoitella itsekseni.

Haluaisin aloittaa yhdestä harjoituksesta nimeltä "Kiireestä kantapäähän" - klikkaa viereinen kuva isommaksi. Se on esitetty kirjan sivulla 27, mutta kirjan lukeminen ei ole tässä välttämätöntä. Minua kiinnostaisi tietää, millaisia fiiliksiä kirjassa esiintyvät harjoitukset ovat herättäneet - ja onko kukaan ylipäätään innostunut tekemään näitä arjen harjoituksia? Olisi myös mukava kuulla omista mielikuvaharjoitteistanne.

Olennaisia kysymyksiä tämän harjoituksen tiimoilta:

Millä tavalla sinä rauhoitat mielesi? Mitä tapahtuisi, jos kiinnittäisit enemmän
huomiota mielesi rauhoittamiseen ja oppisit olemaan tyyni myös tiukoissa
paikoissa?

Kirja tulossa...

2009-03-09T14:19:00.002+02:00

Tervehdys!

Talentum julkaisee toukokuussa kirjani "No Agenda Club - Elä väljästi" (kts. http://www.talentumshop.fi/ ==> Itsensä kehittäminen). Haluan käynnistää blogikeskustelun kirjan aiheista, sillä tunnen oman oppimistarinani olevan vasta alussa. Olisi mukava keskustella ja oppia yhdessä lisää.

Kirjan ydin on vapaan ja luovan keskustelun voima, ja tämän vanhan taidon käyttäminen omassa arjessa ja työnteossa. Etsin väljempää ja rennompaa otetta elämäntapaamme ja työelämäämme. Uskon, että kohtaamamme haasteet edellyttävät uusia asenteita ja uskomuksia, kovaa yrittämällä ja lisää samaa tekemällä uppoamme yhä syvemmälle ongelmiemme suohon.

Toivotan Sinut mukaan uusien tuulien haisteluun. Palaan pian asiaan, toukokuu lähestyy.