Middle Way Management
Practices

Things you can actually do

11 practices, pulled out of the essays and set down on their own.

Middle Way Management is a practice before it is a position, and a practice has to have a “how”. These are the concrete moves described across the essays — what to do, in his words, with the essay each one came from.

Nothing here has been invented or improved upon. Where he does not give a step, none has been supplied.

  1. Mindful breathing

    Two phrases, one on the in-breath and one on the out-breath.

  2. Clarifying questions

    Non-confrontational, seeking information only.

  3. Breathing on a quality

    Sit with the breath first, then hold one quality on each breath.

  4. Anchoring a calm association

    A calm state you condition in advance, triggered by a pinch of your own hand.

  5. Answering a criticism

    Stop talking, wait, then ask what behavior they saw.

  6. Early-day reflection

    Look back at the day so far, then picture the rest of it.

  7. Reflective thought

    Ten minutes in a quiet place, booked on the calendar as a meeting.

  8. What sort of person am I?

    The question you ask yourself before the decision, in place of asking about rules or consequences.

  9. Declining a request

    Saying no when the person being asked is already loaded, including when that person is you.

  10. The Magic Mirror

    When a colleague irritates you, the irritation is information about you.

  11. Creative tension

    The stress is the distance between where you are and where you want to be.