Ramon: 00:00

Vuka world. Volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. This kind of world is the one that we are living today and unfortunately, most of us do not like it. But could it be that change, that uncertainty goes hand by hand with growth? Let's talk about it.

Narrator: 00:24

Business artists learn how to channel their purpose, vision and talents while navigating the proper strategies and tactics in their companies to impact the world for good. No more business as usual. I'm Ramon Estrada and this is Business is Art.

Ramon: 00:46

I think most of us have really suffered in a way what COVID brought. We were living our life with our families, in our businesses, in our work, and suddenly, boom, don't expect it.

Ramon: 01:03

Most of us had to stay in lockdown in our places while looking at the news and finding out what's happening with the world and also figuring out what our governments were going to say. What happens when all these changes happen and we have plans for the future? We have something to do in the next week, month, maybe year or years. What's happening with your business when all these happens? Let's talk about change.

Ramon: 01:41

Change, it's natural. Nothing is permanent if we think about it. Right now, we are about to start a new or we already started a new season, it's autumn and before that we had summer, we had spring. So everything in nature, everything in our planet is full of change. Actually, you were not born in the way you are right now.

Ramon: 02:09

You started up in this world as a baby, so did I And we started growing our cells from the first moment of conception between the sperm and the egg. These cells started to form and to multiply at a huge speed, and this speed is what allowed us to be born after 9 months or so. So in a way, growth is related to change. If there is no change, there's no growth. But it has to do with the way that we see this as an opportunity or we take the mindset and the point of view of a victim that is afraid of the change that it's about to come.

Ramon: 02:57

And let me tell you, it's okay to be afraid at some stage, to notice it, to be aware of it because it means that we value something really deep and that we don't want to lose it. This is what fear is showing us, that something in the future is threatening something that we care about. So in a way, yes, it's okay to see fear, to notice it, to to to feel it in our body. Where does your fear shows in your body? Are you conscious about this?

Ramon: 03:34

Because probably, we're just reacting sometimes at what life brings into us and we are just chasing the bright light in front of us, moving, maybe even in circles or even going back because we are not courageous enough to face what we are really seeing in front of us. And this happens a lot as business owners, as founders, as entrepreneurs where probably depends on the stage of the company that you are building. Maybe the startup is like this egg and sperm where something this idea book wants to be alive and the startup needs to grow really fast. Why? Because the money, it's probably going to dry up unless there is this product, the service ready to be tried in the market to find the first clients.

Ramon: 04:29

But then this company, once it has been tried, it has been proved, then it needs to grow fast in order for the company to survive. So we are talking that change sometimes affects us really, really bad when the company is in a really early stage. It doesn't have a business model that it's probed or it it it it doesn't even have the proper team because sometimes when we start, we hire the people that we know of or even some friends, but then the company needs to change from survival into exponential growth. And again, growth is the word and it means to change. So every time we are into this illusion, this desire, this big vision to implement something in the world, to be really moving forward and even to leave our jobs behind us because we want to fulfill this dream of making an impact in the world, we need to address that we want change because if there's no change, everything should remain the same.

Ramon: 05:37

So first of all, let me tell you something about what I'm not dissing in different businesses with founders is that in one hand, they they really want their company to grow, they really want to increase the revenues, they want to, go into new markets or develop new services and products. But there's another part that wants to control that growth, that change and it goes like let's stick to the plan. Why? Because the plan is the one that is ruling the future and actually know the growth, the change, it's natural, and what we should be facing has to do more with addressing the process, not the plan. The plan is a guideline and we should be with our eyes open and to really know what the vision is.

Ramon: 06:31

Jeff Bezos, I cannot quote it, I don't have it written here in front of me but he mentioned that he was really he had this vision about his business and what he did is he stick to that vision, but the implementation, the execution and it's not a surprise why Amazon has the size that it has and why he's even addressing a desire that he had maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago about going to space. So this is important to to notice that in a way, growth is a journey, and in journeys, we really need to change because if we are not in a journey, we are still in the same point of origin instead of moving from Barcelona to Bangkok. I am staying in Barcelona because I don't want change to happen. So what happens when we're not allowing change to happen when actually it's going to happen anyway? We suffer.

Ramon: 07:45

This is one of the concepts that the Buddhist like to talk about because the Buddha said that in life, there is suffering no matter what we do. We're going to suffer and it's not about masochism or I want to or even like Catholics like say, oh yeah, I'm guilty of this and that. Here, I'm not talking about dogma. I'm talking about nature, how nature works and how our mind works And first part of this is to notice that we cannot be attached to a vision thinking that it's going to happen no matter what, we need to be open to the possibilities. We need to know that things will change and this requires us to be in ways still because if we are moving all the time, my dear business owners and founders, entrepreneurs, if you guys are moving all the time, what happens?

Ramon: 08:41

It's really difficult to notice when things are moving because we're moving with the thing. It's easier to see how a train is moving when you are not inside the train, when you are outside near the tracks and you just see it. But if you're moving inside the train and you're walking, you don't have the perception that it's moving much because you are inside the train. So in order to be open, we need to be still. We need to take the time to pause to, let's say, try to clear our minds and to notice where we are in this journey.

Ramon: 09:23

We are not the company that we are building. We are not the startup. We are who we are. We are the entrepreneurs. We are the CEOs or we are one of the business leaders in that company.

Ramon: 09:36

What happens outside, the company, I see it as the vehicle. You are the pilot. You are the one making decisions and driving the vehicle that it's the company towards a destination that's your vision about where the company should go. And this vehicle is not solid like a car made of aluminum or fiber, crystal fiber, whatever or even steel. This vehicle is organic and there are a lot of voids and spaces around because it's full of people.

Ramon: 10:10

And the team, they are in a ways the pilot of their own lives. So as a leader, we need to address this, that we need to have a vision and we need to see how things are changing and, of course, to help the people that are working with us to achieve that dream, how this movement is affecting them. Sometimes as business leaders, what I have been seeing through many, many hours of coaching sessions is that people come to me or come to other coaches wanting to achieve something. They want and they expect a result. And to get that result, what they want is to find out what actions they need to do to get the results.

Ramon: 10:53

So if I do things, I can achieve something. That's the way the world works. But it's for me more important to notice that where these actions, these menu of actions come from comes from a mindset, comes from a way of understanding how change happens, it comes from a mindset of opening ourselves to learning new stuff and not only technical stuff of show me or give me what book do I read in order to get the tensed things to increase my sales qualified leads or to close more more sales or how to make my team work more efficient. I think that's really important and I like to address that when I'm coaching or mentoring entrepreneurs and business owners. But I think it's more important to think of ourselves as a person that to really make that to really allow this growth to be a journey and to bring us the result towards our vision, we need to be more like an empty cup.

Ramon: 11:59

There is this story of a really successful business owner that wanted to meet this extraordinary Zen master because the business owner, the this executive was really willing to or he was eager to know the secret of life, the secret of happiness. So he went to the send master and the the executive was asking questions and letting telling the Zen master a lot of things while the send master was taking 1 teapot and he was pouring tea on top of inside the cup of the executive. He was doing this really gently in a peaceful, calm way way while the executive was, you know, super excited. And at one stage, the cup started to fill in to fill up and the water started to to go outside the cup. And at one point, the executive noticed this.

Ramon: 13:05

Then he told the sandmaster, Hey, hey, wait, what are you doing? You are dropping all the tea. And the sand master said, Yeah, but if I pour more water on the cup, nothing will go in. So our minds, we need to address the situation of stillness like the opportunity to be like an empty cup where we are allowing what's happening in that exact moment to address it and to bring all our experience, all our being, all our energy, our talent, and even the talent of other people to helping us to achieve this big vision that we have for our business. And usually, the more exciting this vision is about impacting in the world, helping our clients, society, community, our team, our vendors, it's not only about making money.

Ramon: 14:04

Money is essential and we need to take care of it. But it's like the water on the teapot. I see money as an ever going flow of energy and as an entrepreneur, we also need to be open about it. We need to take care on the money but money is a great a great servant but it's a really awful ruler. So, my dear friends, I want to tell you about this because growth is essential for businesses.

Ramon: 14:35

Growth is essential in our lives. If we are not growing in some sort of way, at one stage, we are not going to be higher than the way we are. Right? Because we're adults, but we don't want to grow to the sides. Right?

Ramon: 14:52

Actually, right now I am in this detox diet working out because I want my body to grow in fitness. I want to for my mind to be more clear. I want to be more open to learning. So growth can happen in different dimensions and we want to create as well a larger impact in our worlds. So engage and embrace growth, welcome it, and allow your presence, your talents to be aligned with the kind of growth and direction where you want to go.

Ramon: 15:28

Don't be afraid, you can do it and Godspeed.

Narrator: 15:33

Thanks for listening to Business is Art and if you like what you heard, subscribe to the show, so you'll be notified when a new episode drops. You can also check for more free resources at businessis.art or check your show notes for a link. Godspeed.