The Business Dojo

 

Everything you do and everything you are is experienced  through your body.  It is the vehicle that carries you through life.  Understanding  and paying attention to the signals our body sends us and paying attention to the signals that other people send us through their bodies is what embodiment is all about.  In modern society,where so much happens at the touch of a button and through a screen, increasingly  people have become somewhat detached from their own bodies, let alone those of others.  The results all too often are; inefficiency, unnecessary mistakes, poor communication, which in turn decreases the fitness and health of individuals and businesses alike.  Sometimes the consequences can be terminal.

 

The Business Dojo uses simple body exercises to re-connect people with themselves and to demonstrate some core principles that will help us become far more effective on a personal level and at the same time, more effective in our dealings with others.  After all, you can tell a child that sticking their hand into a fire is a bad idea and that it will hurt, but the child who actually does so, will have a much deeper understanding of the danger, when faced by the same thing in the future.  In simple terms, experiential learning is simply much more powerful than book learning, or indeed anything else that is not genuinely felt.  

 

And just as we don’t want to have to see our children suffer, in business,  ideally, we want to get the message across without the cost to the bottom line.  The principles embedded within aikido, the way of harmony with nature, offer a powerful tool to  allow you the chance to understand the consequences of your actions and behaviour  in a really meaningful way in a safe training environment.  This is the essence of what a dojo is all about.

 

In so doing, you will learn new skills that will allow you to:

 

• Develop yourself and  maximise your potential.

• How to work with others in a harmonious and efficient way.

• Manage the business of conflict effectively.

• Understand how to achieve balance in all aspects of life.

• Become more fulfilled, confident and effective.

• How to deal with problems in a positive way.

• Be confident in dealing with change.

 

The secret is simple and based on  a few central ideas that once understood, genuinely help you to perform  with maximum efficiency.  As individuals, we need to learn to:

 

• Be centred

• Be relaxed in mind and body

• Be grounded

• Be aware of how you feel and what is going on around you

 

Just as we need to develop self-awareness so that we can get the best out of ourselves, so we also need to develop skills that help us to get the best out of the people with whom we engage.  We all want healthy and productive relationships and in the business world this is critical if you are to maximise profitability.  Again aikido offers a simple set of principles to do this.  They are:

 

1. Start with a positive mind

2. You need to be aware, to give yourself the best chance of dealing with whatever is happening around you

3. Respect people’s views and actions, even if you disagree with them

4. Place yourself in their shoes to gain the best perspective of why they act and speak as they do

5. Maintain centre and act appropriately

 

Failing to observe these principles often results in problems arising and this can be stressful.  In the martial arena this could literally mean losing your head, but in a metaphorical sense, it is also a real possibility  in the business world.  In aikido training we learn how to deal with stress by experiencing it, in perhaps the most harrowing situation, i.e. a physical attack.  Clearly this is not practical in business training, so Quentin has developed exercises that are completely safe, to provide an opportunity to learn  how to deal with a problem through the use of the principles above..  In doing so, you will learn to become more resilient and agile, to be prepared for anything, to be positive,  to be aware and  how to respond appropriately and effectively to whatever is going on around you.  

 

In any organisation, these skills are relevant and much needed and directly impact on its effectiveness.

                                                 

 

                                                The Business Dojo, 16 Low Road, Burwell, Cambridge, CB25 0EJ  -   Tel. 07802 857150 

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