A moment for presence, a “London Pause”.
The photo above was taken from Camberwell Green two days ago as I walked to a meeting.
Yesterday morning my daily post was called “One more secret to success“, that secret being the power of focussing on love in business and highlighting one amazing business that has love at the centre of all they do. When that post went up on LinkedIn, I then chose to highlight another company, noting:
In addition to the business mentioned in the post, I also highlight Michael McKenna and Final Pixel. Though they are at the leading edge of the burgeoning Virtual Production industry, his vision from the beginning was to build a place where people would love to work, and the evidence is clear to see. Final Pixel has attracted and continues to attract amazing people with stunning talent, with a clear differentiator being their “magician’s code”, the wonderful way they are with each other, their clients, everyone they interact with.
So, to that meeting that I was walking to. In the early days of Final Pixel a few short years ago, Michael McKenna brought me in to support them in developing their Vision and Culture. Their “Magician’s Code” was the output, the “operating system” that unlocks the power of their business and of bringing love into business. I have continued as a Board Advisor to Final Pixel in the years since, as well as, from time to time, coming into team meetings (such as the one this week) to focus repeatedly on their culture. An exercise we did at this most recent meeting was for everyone to note one value they hold dear to themselves, as well as a story around why, and a “behaviour as expression of values” story.
One of the leaders of the business shared that the value of PRESENCE is key to them, along with a powerful personal story. In our fast-paced world, being present is hugely valuable to us as individuals and to our business.
So, back to the picture above. My journey to the meeting was disrupted by train issues such that I had to get an earlier train. This then allowed me the choice to take a route finishing with a relaxed 25-minute walk wandering across a part of London I don’t know well. I found myself at Camberwell Green and looked down a side street, seeing a pub and the street framing the sun shining off this old church.
I walked past that sight for a moment, then stopped, turned around, and walked a few steps to frame the shot. I then took the picture, then did something I had never done before. I don’t generally post Instagram stories (the posts that expire in 24 hours), but that day I did, capturing that ephemeral moment, and even added a hashtag I thought of in the moment, #LondonPause.
I had taken a moment for presence, a “London Pause”. I sense this will become a theme for me and I love that.