Leonard Daniels (1909–1998) - A British Restaurant at Winchester
© Southampton City Art Gallery

The voicemail that morning was brisk and businesslike:

‘We’re looking forward to seeing you for lunch today. Please call to confirm the reservation. And be aware that we need the table back at 2-30.’

I called to confirm.

‘That’s great,’ came the reply from the polite young man. ’We need the table back at 2-30.’

I arrived for lunch and was shown my place.

‘Still or sparkling water, sir?’
‘Tap please.’
‘You do know you need to be finished by 2-30?’
‘Yes… Shall I just order a dessert and get out of your way?’

This exchange brought to mind the transience of contemporary life.

The world is spinning faster. Things are over before they've started. And our accelerated culture inevitably causes stress and anxiety. We’re always worried about missing out, concerned about what’s happening elsewhere. What’s next, who’s next, where next? It’s hard to pause and reflect, to enjoy the moment. It’s even more difficult to plan for the future.

The challenges of this accelerated culture impact the world of work too.

We live in an era of freelance and independent contractors; of ‘plug-in, plug-out’; of side hustles and the gig economy; of endless restructuring and reorganization; of periodic lay-offs and AI prompted redundancies. The cycle of employment is rotating faster, the turnover of staff is whirling quicker. Contemporary careers are fluid and flexible, polymorphous and plural. What’s in it for me? I’m at capacity right now. I’m jobscrolling, I’m jobhugging, I’m quiet quitting…

There’s also a revolving door of CEOs, a conveyor belt of senior management. Each has a unique vision and an inspiring purpose, a pressing and urgent agenda. They’re looking for a quick turnaround, preparing for a swift sale, planning to flip the business.

‘We’re interested in the long term, but only if you can deliver in the short term.’

No revelation perhaps that, in this climate, colleagues and clients are often looking over your shoulder for a more compelling conversation, a more interesting opportunity. No surprise that their eyes glaze over when you talk about abiding relationships and enduring loyalty.

‘Where do you see yourself in five years’ time?’
‘Somewhere else, clearly.’

We have been raised to believe that responsible brand stewards look to the long-term, to the future horizon. We have been taught that careers and relationships are built over time. But we also need to recognise that our customers’ and colleagues’ priorities reside in the present.

My limited understanding of mindfulness is that it asks us to set aside nostalgic longings for the past and fanciful hopes for the future; to ignore events and conversations that are occurring with other people in parallel places; to experience life in the here and now. It thereby addresses depression and anxiety.

So, consider the Mindful Company: one that conducts business in the moment, in the present, with the best resources that are currently available. It would be intense, agile, fleet of foot. It would supply superior strategic and creative solutions for here and for now. And it would structure its remuneration model around premium-priced projects and tasks, rather than around commoditised, long-term account tenure.

Of course, an enduring appointment delivers security of income and enables confident financial planning. But if the reality of client imperatives and colleagues’ careers do not match that ambition, then perhaps we need to adapt?

If we properly align our priorities with those of contemporary culture, with our clients and colleagues; if we focus on the short-term horizon, then perhaps we can build the relationships, trust, careers and long-term brand success that we all yearn for.

As the great choreographer George Balanchine demanded of his exhausted dancers:

‘What are you waiting for? What are you saving yourselves for? Now is all there is!’

'Take your hands off me,
I don't belong to you, you see.
And take a look in my face, for the last time.
I never knew you, you never knew me.
Say hello goodbye,
Say hello and wave goodbye.’
Soft Cell, ‘Say Hello, Wave Goodbye’ (D Ball / M Almond)

No. 569