Cutting Up an Ox
I recently re-discovered the Taoist poem,
Cutting Up an Ox and recognized in it a pattern for how I'd like to introduce agility into an organization. The poem really speaks for itself in explaining this, but I'll add a few words of commentary here.
An organization, on first encounter, appears as one mass - or
blob; through working with the individuals, especially (but certainly not exclusively) those at a grass roots level the distinctions become apparent. Lines, channels of communication, begin to emerge and communication blocks are unearthed. The organizational flow (or lack thereof) becomes apparent. At this stage it is tempting to believe that the solutions are obvious, and to want to go in with advice - and change things. This is too soon, perhaps. Maybe, like the cook in the poem, we need to wait until we 'see nothing', but begin to apprehend in a new way altogether. Then perhaps the solutions will find themselves. Life flows.
Given the space, given trust, people will inevitably behave in the right way; it is in our natures to seek harmony. When the knife blade is 'thin and keen', it almost doesn't hurt at all: it is invisible. As coaches sometimes all we need to do is pause, barely move the blade, and simply watch the barriers fall away. That place of trust will not be reached without effort, and there is much groundwork to be done to prepare the path.
The process begins with quiet listening; it does not begin with loud instruction.
Cutting Up an Ox - Chuang Tzu
Translation by Thomas Merton, from "The Way of Chuang Tzu",
©1965 Abbey of Gethsemani
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Prince Wen Hui's cook
Was cutting up an ox.
Out went a hand,
Down went a shoulder,
He planted a foot,
He pressed with a knee
The ox fell apart
With a whisper,
The bright cleaver murmured
Like a gentle wind.
Rhythm! Timing!
Like a sacred dance,
Like "The Mulberry Grove"
Like ancient harmonies!
"Good work!" the Prince exclaimed,
"Your method is faultless!"
"Method?" said the cook
Laying aside his cleaver,
"What I follow is Tao
Beyond all methods!
"When I first began
To cut up oxen
I would see before me
The whole ox
All in one mass.
"After three years
I no longer saw this mass.
I saw the distinctions.
"But now, I see nothing
With the eye. My whole being
Apprehends.
My sense are idle. The spirit
Free to work without plan
Follows its own instinct
Guided by natural line,
By the secret opening,
The hidden space,
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My cleaver finds its own way.
I cut through no joint, chop no bone.
"A great cook needs a new chopper
Once a year - he cuts.
A poor cook needs a new one
Every month - he hacks!
"I have used this same cleaver
Nineteen years.
It has cut up
A thousand oxen.
Its edge is as keen
As if newly sharpened.
"There are spaces in the joints;
The blade is thin and keen:
When this thinness
Finds that space
There is all the room you need!
It goes like a breeze!
Hence I have this cleaver
Nineteen years
As if newly sharpened!
"True, there are sometimes
Tough joints. I feel them coming,
I slow down, I watch closely,
Hold back, barely move the blade,
And whump! the part falls away
Landing like a clod of earth.
"Then I withdraw the blade,
I stand still
And let the joy of the work
Sink in.
I clean the blade
And put it away."
Prince Wen Hui said,
"This is it! My cook has shown me
How I ought to live
My own life!"
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Related Links
Lovely Poem Related to Agile and Coaching by Mishkin Berteig