Harnessing the Power of 'Yohaku no Bi': How White Spaces' Can Transform Founder Effectiveness

In life, we all encounter ideas that influence our view of the world. For me, one such concept is Yohaku no Bi (白の美), a Japanese term that translates to 'the beauty of empty spaces’.

Yohaku no Bi is an essential part of artistic composition in Japanese aesthetics and design - and can be seen in Japanese gardens, temples, artwork, and even home interior. A great example is the famous Zen gardens of Kyoto - where alongside the deliberate placement of each stone, the spaces between the stones hold key significance.

When I first heard the phrase,? it reminded me of a valuable lesson from my painting studies: “Negative spaces" - the areas between the elements in an artwork - are just as vital to the composition as the central elements in the piece.

Lately, I've been reflecting on how this concept translates to the startup world. In a founder's journey, moments of pause and reflection before strategic decisions can be crucial to the company’s success.?

Could adopting a 'Yohaku no Bi mindset' lead to more thoughtful growth for both companies and founders? What if founders could enhance their effectiveness by becoming more aware of subtle patterns in their routines, creating more 'white space' throughout their day? How might this influence overall performance and relationships with their co-founders, employees, investors, customers, and even their family and loved ones?

Through recent discussions with founders, I've seen how minor adjustments can lead to major benefits, particularly by incorporating 'white space' into their daily routines.?

Here are some actionable ways to integrate the Yohaku no Bi mindset to enhance your effectiveness as a founder:

1. Revise your calendar: add buffer time for improved decision-making

?"If there is time to reflect, slowing down is likely to be a good idea. " Daniel Kahneman?

I recently spoke with a serial founder who has successfully exited two companies and now embarked on a new role in venture capital. When I asked him about the transition, he mentioned that, although he was enjoying the change in perspective, his calendar felt completely out of control. “I must be doing something wrong,” he admitted. When I inquired about the buffer time between meetings, he replied, “I have close to none”, later elaborating this was due to an old habit rooted in his previous entrepreneurial journey.?

In a founder's fast-paced environment, it often seems impossible to fit in breaks. Honsetly, I don't know any founder who doesn't feel a twinge of guilt about taking a break, questioning, “Have I done enough to deserve this?”. This guilt often extends beyond personal anxieties, rooted in the relentless 'hustle culture' and the high milestones founders are expected to achieve - understandably so. From a VC's perspective, the expectation for founders to deliver is clear. Nevertheless, mastering the art of balancing these demands is essential for a founder’s sustainable success.

In fact, taking time to pause and reflect is crucial for effective decision-making and can help mitigate the risk of burnout, a significant and often overlooked challenge for founders.? A study published in The American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine found that taking micro-breaks throughout the day reduces stress and improves cognitive function and productivity.

By incorporating small buffers between meetings, you allow for necessary transitions and moments of reflection. It’s not just about fitting everything into a busy schedule; it's about making time to process information and gain insights from each interaction. A cluttered calendar often lacks the space needed for these pauses, impacting our ability to think clearly and make effective decisions.?

Action items

• Manage Guilt Around Breaks: Recognize that taking breaks is essential for maintaining productivity. Shift your mindset from guilt to understanding that these pauses are crucial for sustained effectiveness and clarity.
• Add Buffer Times: Incorporate short breaks before and after meetings to allow for transitions and reflection. This helps prevent burnout and enhances your ability to process insights from each interaction.
• Practice Mindful Pauses: Aim for 3-5 minutes of stillness, mindfulness, or deep breathing at the start and end of your day. Although challenging, this practice clears your mind and prepares you for the day ahead. Neuroscience shows that these moments of calm help regulate stress and improve focus by lowering cortisol levels and enhancing cognitive processing.

2. Integrating White Space in VC & Costumer Pitches

When pitching to investors or customers, it's crucial to come prepared with your key messages. However, effective pitches go beyond a one-sided presentation. Integrating "white space" into your pitch—allowing for pauses, questions, and dialogue—creates an environment of trust and engagement.?

I recently spoke with a serial founder who has moved into the M&A world. He recounted how, in the early days of his startup, he would try to cover every detail of his business in customer interactions, only to realize that this approach was hindering his progress. Eventually, he adjusted his strategy, which played a key role in his successful acquisition. Now, as he meets with founders he frequently sees the same overly detailed approach that he once used.

Allowing space for interaction in a pitch not only highlights a founder’s coachability and receptiveness to feedback but also conveys confidence and strategic clarity, reflecting a calm composure rather than stress about covering every detail. By incorporating opportunities for dialogue, you simply build a strong foundation for the relationship, ultimately leading to better business outcomes.

Action items

• Build in Pauses: Design your pitch to include deliberate pauses for questions and interactions. This approach fosters a collaborative environment and invites engagement, demonstrating your confidence as a founder while also highlighting your receptiveness for feedback and coachability.
• Prioritize Key Points: Focus on highlighting your core messages rather than covering every aspect of the business. Allowing space for questions and discussion ensures you address what matters most and showcases your understanding of the other side’s interests.
• Practice Active Listening: During your pitch, actively listen to the questions and feedback from investors or customers. Reflect what you heard and respond thoughtfully rather than rushing to fill every moment with information, demonstrating that you genuinely value their input.
• Embrace Silence: Have you ever noticed how, on a first date, both sides nervously avoid awkward silences - yet over time, as a meaningful relationship develops, those same moments of silence can come to signify a deep, comfortable connection? Similarly, effective pitches often benefit from allowing “quiet” moments, as genuine engagement emerges. So - don’t be afraid of silence during the conversation. It might lead to a marriage after all…

3. Enhance Your Productivity by Aligning with your Body’s Ultradian Rhythm

Productivity isn’t a switch we can flip on demand; it follows our natural cycles of focus and energy. Jocelyn K. Glei ’s concept of "tender discipline", combines seemingly opposing ideas of softness and structure, suggesting a different approach to managing work.?

The more skillful a startup founder becomes at renewing their energy, the greater their capacity to drive the company forward. Embracing tender discipline means balancing intense work with regular breaks (hence “white spaces”) and managing workload to align with your natural energy patterns. Taking this principle one step further, by attuning this balance with your body’s ultradian rhythms - the body’s natural cycles of focus and rest - you can optimize performance and sustain productivity over the long term.??This biology-backed approach helps improve creativity and reduce the risk of founder burnout.

Leverage Your Body’s Ultradian Rhythm

Ultradian rhythms are natural, recurring cycles in the body’s biological processes that occur every 90 to 120 minutes day and night. These rhythms govern various functions, including sleep stages and periods of wakefulness, influencing our energy levels, focus, and overall productivity. Understanding and aligning with these rhythms can help optimize performance and well-being by syncing our activities with our body’s intrinsic patterns.

A well-known study by psychologist Anders Ericsson analyzed top violinists and found they consistently divided their practice into three 90-minute sessions, each followed by a break. This pattern of working in focused intervals aligns with ultradian rhythms and can be applied to any area of productivity, from writing and responding to emails to developing apps. By following these natural rhythms, tasks can be completed more efficiently.

Action items

• Work in 90-Minute Intervals: Dedicate 90 minutes to focused work followed by a 20-minute break to recharge.
• Track Productivity Patterns: Plan important tasks during your peak energy times and use time-tracking tools to monitor and adjust your work schedule.
• Reflect Weekly: Review what worked and adjust your routine to better align with your natural rhythms.

Summary: Embrace White Spaces for Sustainable Success

While this may not be a classic "VC" approach, I strongly believe that in the high-pressure startup world, balancing relentless productivity with thoughtful pauses is crucial. Embracing the Yohaku no Bi mindset can transform how founders manage their routines, decisions, and relationships.

Viewing these “empty spaces” as essential rather than obstructive can enable founders to boost their effectiveness, mitigate burnout, and hit their milestones. We often feel uneasy with empty spaces, just as we do with silence in conversations, feeling pressured to fill both. However, like Zen Gardens that embody meditative clarity, embracing yohaku no bi allows us to cultivate an uncluttered mind and a calm approach to challenges

By incorporating deliberate breaks, strategic pauses during pitches, and aligning work with natural ultradian rhythms, founders can pursue a more sustainable and impactful path to success.