Steady in a Shifting Meeting: Dōgen’s Next Small Step

“Originally written in Japanese; translated and edited for clarity with AI assistance. Some characters and locations are illustrative examples.”

Stop waiting for perfect. Read the flow → take the next small step.

Monday morning. Maya takes a breath before her first team presentation.
Last week the metrics moved; last night the scope changed. The tighter she tries to lock things down, the more her feet won’t move.

She thinks of the bus commute: three lanes merging into one. No one rams their way in. You read the flow → match speed → ease in.
“Today isn’t about ‘crushing it.’ It’s about adjusting as I go.”

She opens her notebook and draws three columns: Known / Unknown / Test.

• Known: audience, time box, the two must-show charts.
• Unknown: which KPI matters most next quarter; which risk is truly first.
• Test: confirm the primary KPI in the first five minutes; propose a one-week pilot.

She sits up and counts five breaths—inhale 1, exhale 2… to 5.
The tightness loosens one notch. She gives the deck ten minutes only: reorder, trim wordy labels, stop when the timer rings.

People file in; the projector blinks; someone cracks a Monday joke.
Maya opens with a quick user story and shows the two charts.
“What’s the KPI to optimize?” someone asks.

She doesn’t freeze. “If we have to pick one, which KPI most changes next quarter’s decisions?”

“Activation,” the lead says. The room snaps into focus.
When the discussion gets muddy, Maya recreates the three columns on the whiteboard and sort-tags comments.
Gossip turns into questions: “We don’t know week-2 retention by segment.” “We can test the new nudge on a 10% slice.”
The pace slows for a moment, then clears.

Afterward, the lead nods. “Thanks for steering without over-promising.”

On the bus home, the highway squeezes to one lane again. Blinkers flare; drivers pause, look, move.
No one controls the whole road—
and yet everyone gets through.
Maya exhales and writes one line: Read the gap → ease in → keep moving.

Zen Notes (Dōgen) — What to Do Next

(Dōgen: 13th-century Zen teacher)

• Shikantaza — Just sit (five breaths to see clearly before speaking)
  Park evaluation first; return to posture and breath. Those five breaths create a seeing state.
• Shūshō Ittō — Practice = realization (process is the path)
  Value doesn’t wait for the outcome. Tidy → ask → test is already the work.
• Genjōkōan — Truth shows up in doing (move → notice → adjust)
  Understanding appears inside the loop, not before it. The three columns make the “now” visible.
• Shinjin Datsuraku — Let the self-story loosen (drop perfect-me / failing-me)
  Release the script and take the next small step.
• Samu — Everyday work as practice (slides, facilitation, sorting = training)
  Like a smooth merge: read others, match speed, enter cleanly.

One-Minute Practice (Before a Meeting)

1. Five breaths. Inhale 1, exhale 2… to 5. Soften jaw and shoulders.
2. Ten-minute touch. Reorder and shorten labels only; stop when the timer rings.
3. One question. Open with: “Which KPI will most shape next quarter’s decisions?”
4. Three columns live. Update Known / Unknown / Test on the board as you go.
5. One line to close. Write the next small step, like a merge: read → enter → continue.