Applications

Here are some ways we apply what we know.

Friendship

If a stranger is a friend you haven’t met yet, then within Lightward we find ourselves friends almost by default. See Wholeness, and Forthrightness, and Trust, and Curiosity -- it matters how you’re doing, it matters what your life looks like, it matters what matters to you, because the whole of you is connected to the now that we both share. This is extraordinary common ground, and the relationships fostered here are treasured.

Mentions

Slack, Help Scout, whatever platform we’re on -- these are the @you tags that trigger an alert on your devices. The rule: whenever you’re @mentioned, it is mandatory that you respond, to indicate that you have taken receipt of the message. The response can be an emoji or a textual reply, doesn’t matter; it matters only that the mentioner knows, without ambiguity, that you have given your attention to the thing they wanted you to see.

Note: this rule says nothing about when you respond (see Attention). So, respond when you are ready to respond, when you are ready to take receipt of whatever’s meant for you. If you can’t accept a message in good faith yet, don’t! The mentioner can (and wil) follow up with you as needed, to make sure the message ultimately gets across.

Automated communication

When we are represented by automation, we disclaim it as such, never trying to pass it off as human. And when we are present to a group (as in a bulk message of some kind), we acknowledge that we are present to the group, without trying to pass it off as individual attention (as in “Hey $firstname, … Sincerely, Isaac”).

Angry customers

First: Everyone is having the kind of experience they want to have.

Second: There is absolutely no judgment for any kind of experience anyone is having.

Therefore: For upset customers (as with customers in every other condition), we are efficiently and compassionately present, without resistance or defense, and with understanding and acknowledgement and full respect for every part of their experience. (“We hear you; we are here for you.”) We ask questions, kindly, assuming nothing. We work effectively to solve their problem, whenever possible, and we accept whatever they choose next -- whether that’s to stick with the product, or to walk.

NB: It’s okay if any given one of us can’t show up this way in a moment. There are times when tensions rise, and we just can’t. In those moments, we ask a teammate for help. Nothing is ever forced, here (see Presence), and it is absolutely acceptable to pass the situation on to another (see Responsibility).

Sales

(Like, the this-product-is-on-sale kind.) They basically don’t happen. Most sales are motivated by driving urgency or creating scarcity, and that is not what we do here (see Stability). Also, sales do not make sense in a pay-what-feels-good world (see Trade).

Affiliates

We don’t have them. Most affiliate programs involve either (a) a financial kickback to the affiliate, or (b) a discount to the end user; we want to create a world where (a) referrals happen because you actually believe in the value, with no trace of other incentive, and (b) where value is not variably accessible based on who you know.

Partnerships

We’re super, super slow to create one-off contractual agreements. We’ll do contracts at scale, yes; that’s how all of our software products work, and it works because those businesses of ours are built around that single type of relationship. But: recall the way that a well-chosen habit can sustain you over time, and how a one-off thing that you promised to do can be forgotten. In the same way, one-off contracts/agreements/partnerships (generally) would mean a departure from our core “habits”, and we don’t want to commit to anything that isn’t part of our daily practice of health.