April 29, 2011

Do you believe in Karma? I do. Like the time a VP called me into his office after I resigned, yelled and screamed at me and as a climax to his tirade said “We’re going to buy that company and when we do…I’m going to fire you!”

About a year later, we were at an industry trade show. I was in the booth of my new company when this VP walked by. He came over to me and apologized for screaming that day. Finally, I asked why he felt he had to do that. He explained he had resigned a few months after me for a new position at another company. Then six months after that, the company we had both worked for purchased his new employer and fired him.

This was just my most obvious example of karma in action—I’ve had many more. I began to wonder if karma was something that just happened or if it was something that we had any control over. Recently, I came across a couple of books that answered the question.

Karma is Your Handprint on Others and the World

Michael Roach, co-author of The Diamond Cutter and Karmic Management calls karma an imprint that you make on the world with your thoughts, and actions. He explains that these imprints start small but grow into mighty consequences.

We’ve all heard the phrase “Be the change you want to see in the world.” It’s a terrific short-cut phrase, but I always struggle with the specifics around what I should do or who I want to be exactly. This is where Roach’s seven karmic principles appear as a daily guide and meditation for business and life:

1. To prosper financially, be generous.
2. To see yourself in a world that is happy, maintain an ethical way of life.
3. To see yourself as healthy and attractive, refuse to get angry.
4. To see yourself as a leader, take joy in constructive and helpful actions.
5. To focus your mind, practice meditation.
6. To free yourself from a world that doesn’t work the way you want it to, learn about the hidden potential of things.
7. To get all you wished for, practice compassion toward others.

Roach and McNally outline a simple and easy to use process that you can integrate into your everyday life fairly easily. They start by asking you to focus on four main areas of your business: Co-workers, suppliers, customers, and the world. Look for ways to help each of these constituencies succeed. By doing all you can to help your constituencies, you are creating positive imprints will yield successful results.

One recommendation I put into practice is keeping a “Six-Time Book.” The idea is to focus on the principles you want to work on and keep track of when you actually did that or when you fell short.

To start your own Six-Time Book:

1. Get a notebook.
2. Identify your three biggest business problems. There are a list of 46 business problems in The Diamond Cutter—I’ve outlined seven general principles in this article that you can start with.
3. Divide your note book into six boxes that give you room to write five or sex sentences in each box.
4. Write a business challenge and the correlating principle in three of the boxes—you will be tracking those in the morning.
5. Place a plus sign and minus sign in each box. When you actually do something according to the principle, write down the specific item i.e. Problem Statement: Make more money—be generous:  +“At 8:45 I brought Jack breakfast because I knew he had a big meeting to prepare for”
6. Repeat the process for the next three boxes in the afternoon.

There are lots of resources online to help you implement some of these principles. Management by Design has the whole process laid out and also provides templates you can use. You can also visit The Diamond Cutter Discussion Group for more information.

How You Can Create Your Own Karma

You can create your own karma by acknowledging that you are at the cause of your own experiences. If someone is ignoring you, start looking for opportunities to really listen to other people. If you think that a team member is trying to sabotage your project, stop gossiping and complaining about your situation or other people. I can honestly say that I started seeing problems as opportunities to create more success and happiness in the world, in my business and in my life. You can create this same for yourself.

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Join the conversation ( 1 )

• Robyn Shapiro, RN (LION) 1 year 0 months and 28 days ago

  

  Happy Monday-Sharing Karmic principles for business and life. Enjoy!