From The Tao of Pooh and The Te of Piglet by Benjamin Hoff (ISBN 0-416-19526-1), this story illustrating the Taoist principle of Effortless Action or Wu Wei:
The Old Master and the Horse
A horse was tied outside a shop in a narrow Chinese village street. Whenever anyone would try to walk by, the horse would kick him. Before long, a small crowd of villages had gathered near the shop, arguing about how best to get past the dangerous horse. Suddenly, someone came running. “The Old Master is coming!” he shouted. “He’ll know what to do!”
The crowd watched eagerly as the Old Master came around the corner, saw the horse, turned, and walked down another street.
Business practice today is often filled with lots of pushing and straining. Emergencies are a plenty seemingly everywhere you look. There is oh so much effort-filled action.
The resultant stress and ineffective decision-making means long term sustainability is compromised. “Why is everything so hard?!”
Often, an emergency is not really an emergency. It is ok to sit on it for a bit especially when the emotions around it threaten to be overwhelming. This is not avoiding an issue; it is about allowing time for the emotional dust to settle so you can actually see the reality and then take calm, measured action, if any.
Sometimes, it is ok to just avoid a problem altogether. There may be no advantage in confronting an immovable issue head-on. Saying no or leaving a client may be the best thing all round.
