Unlike most startup founders and players in Silicon Valley, I didn’t learn about managing a business from other entrepreneurs, my gut or a self-help book. Born and raised in Israel, I completed my nation’s obligatory military service as an officer in the navy, then took a drastic departure from the paths my friends and family had tread: I left the country to travel the Far East and learn about different cultures and life there.
And what a change that experience wrought: What had begun naturally as curiosity and openness evolved into a desire to study and understand Buddhism in the streets and in the villages, by interacting with people, and from time to time visiting a monastery in China.
In order to survive during this period, I worked as a tour guide. Along with my trips, for seven years I also conducted workshops in the spirit of Buddhist philosophy.
In this way, I soaked up a philosophy and culture I fell in love with, and when I came back to my home country, I built a company founded on these same principles. From day one, these ideas have defined how we do business and interact with both clients and employees.
Specifically, my goal is to maintain, enable and preserve clarity, and to conduct business measured, on one hand, by the usual bottom line, and on the other, a business that rebels against projected outcomes. Here are four things I learned at a monastery in the mountains of China that are cornerstones of my business:
Never stop growing.
At Feelter, I encourage my employees not to focus solely on building their careers, but on building their lives, as well. I demand this for myself and ask it of my colleagues. When I wake up each day, I aim to build and be built anew, based on my desire for growth, development and renewal.
As Buddhist monk Jenna Sundell teaches, work, to Buddhists, is meant to refine consciousness, soften the ego and lessen suffering; it isn’t simply about money or status.
Our employees all have big side projects with goals: One is an actor who was a finalist on Israel’s Big Brother. One is an angel investor. Aanother commits his time to helping children who suffer from diabetes and is writing a book. Yet another is a professional climber. My desire and mission is to advance ethics and courage, and establish a business with wisdom at its center. I want to build a company that evolves and inspires its employees and associates.
Find your anchor.
In the business world, the endless race of meeting targets, putting out fires, managing employees and dealing with the competitive…