Written by My Collaborative Team co-founder, Carolann Mazza
I heard a man named Les Brown recite a parable that went something like this:
A Chinese bamboo tree takes five years to grow. It has to be watered and fertilized in the ground where it has been planted every day. It doesn’t break through the ground for five years. After five years, once it breaks through the ground, it will grow 90 feet tall in five weeks! The question is did the Chinese bamboo tree grow 90 feet tall in five weeks or in five years? Says Les Brown, the answer is obvious, it grows 90 feet tall in 5 years. If at any time that person stopped watering and fertilizing that tree, it would die in the ground. Some people do not have the patience to wait for the tree to grow, yet many people do.
Growing a Collaborative Practice is like that. It takes time to establish. It needs to be attended to every day: honing skills through training; joining local practice groups; joining the IACP; going to forums and conferences; marketing; networking with fellow Collaborative Practitioners; creating an elevator speech, publishing online and in paper, changing the approach to client consultations; helping clients envision possibilities that exist.
Many people have been watering and fertilizing their Collaborative seeds for many, many years; maybe without visible results. Then, suddenly, their Collaborative practices show signs of growth and the Practice blossoms.
Mrs. Mazza’s office is located at 12 SE 7th St #704, in Ft. Lauderdale. Contact Mrs. Mazza at (954) 527-4604 or [email protected]
Insightful and inspirational commentary. Don’t give up and stay the course! Les Brown got it right in terms of life and developing a collaborative law practice. It made my day. Thank you Carolann.
Thanks for this. Very important to reflect on this and a nice time of year to think of planting seeds.
So true. Love the collaborative metaphor. The time is always NOW (THINK ABOUT IT!!) LUV YA!
bamboo is the Chinese symbol for strength
Bamboo is the Chinese symbol for strength.
Germination is a process familiar to those of us who grew up amid the cornfields of the midwest— the potential stored within the seed that will burst forth in its right season.
Carolann’s description is so true to my experience. It’s a matter of the leap of trust.
Hi. I live in the North East of Thailand and I can confirm that the bamboo story is true as I have over the last few weeks just seen it happen. We didn’t plant the bamboo tree. We didn’t care for it. We do live in a very rural area though so I assume the seeds were planted as per nature. But one day…I was walking out onto our balcony and I noticed a growth I had not seen before. I somewhat knew the bamboo growth story and so I was excited to see it. what I didn’t expect though was the rapid growth of a huge area of bamboo. Huge. And in a few weeks. You can sit on the balcony and literally seeing growing in front of your eyes. And I joke not. Gives me great confidence in nature to fix what we break.
Beautiful metaphor, Carolann!
“Growing a Collaborative Practice is like that. It takes time to establish. It needs to be attended to every day: honing skills through training; joining local practice groups; joining the IACP; going to forums and conferences; marketing; networking with fellow Collaborative Practitioners; creating an elevator speech, publishing online and in paper, changing the approach to client consultations; helping clients envision possibilities that exist.”
Agreed, Carolann! Growing anything at all also requires perseverance, patience, belief in the possibilities and fruits of one’s labor, as well as fostering the environment within which it can flourish.
Among many other things, Stu had the vision, the belief, and the perseverance, and IACP, FACP, MCT, and the entire Collaborative Community at large is responsible for nurturing and fostering the growth.
Great post, Carolann!
I don’t have a website.I was researching bamboo and how to grow it .This page came up. I guess for a reason. It took me 5 years to buy and fully pay of and own a home . I believed in myself when nobody else did. The more people that tried to destroy my dream grew but soon they were all cut down .Now I stand alone 5 years later my home payed off.brand new and happy. I do believe I will start a business with the same philosophy. Congratulations on your success please let me know what you do and how you do it I might be interested.
Hi! Spot on with this write-up, I truly think this website needs much more consideration. I’ll probably be again to read much more, thanks for that info.
So simple, yet so true, Carolann. Anything in life worth doing needs cultivating and nurturing for it to grow.
Jeff