Bowing in at Plum Village #WADBOG

Millie Findlay
Nov 6 · 2 min read

One of the many privileges of our work is that we get to partner with clients who are forward looking, committed, and want to find ways to better serve their current and future customers.

This doesn’t mean that they always see eye to eye with each other, or with us. The nature of cultural transformation, strategy and innovation, sometimes necessities that we disagree but forge a way forward anyway. We then collectively iterate towards our shared purpose, the commitment to which is never in doubt.

In recent weeks, we have experienced a new level of commitment and belief by a team wanting to bring their voice to a changing world in ways that are relevant, engaging and authentic. And we wanted to acknowledge it.

3 images — our favourite way to facilitate introductions

We kicked off a project to help Plum Village, a monastery in France established by Vietnemase Buddhist Monk and Zen Master, Thich Nhat Hanh, and Parallax Press, their publisher. Together, they are tasked with bringing important mindfulness teachings and experiences to life in ways that will resonate with the needs of people today, while staying true to timeless messages. In order to do so, they needed to overcome the challenges of being a distributed team working in a rapidly changing industry to share messages that respond to the most pressing needs of our age.

Group work in the library

We were joined at Plum Village by the ever inspiring and energising Gabi, and are grateful for the collective energy and the willingness to dig deep into challenging topics. Together, we enjoyed the process of ‘bowing in’ to conversations, and ending emails, “With a Deep Bow of Gratitude, (#WADBOG)” rather than our customary ‘Kind regards,’ and ‘checking-in’ around a log fire while Monet-esque trees sway out of the window.

Gabi leads energisers in the garden

The journey and the process continues, maybe at a future juncture, there will be an opportunity for more people to share their experience and join us, let us know if you’d be interested in participating.

After the Comma

Bringing empathy to strategy, innovation and creative development

Millie Findlay

Written by

Co-founder at After the Comma

After the Comma

Bringing empathy to strategy, innovation and creative development

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