What Are Your Coffee Beans?

This post was written by Jay Prewitt, Director of Coaching and Facilitation at The Latimer Group.

In my workshops and coaching sessions, I often ask, “What are your coffee beans?” This metaphor represents the mindfulness practices that help you stay present and focused, even when it’s tough.

At The Latimer Group, we recognize that everyone has too much on their plate—overflowing emails, endless responsibilities, and never enough time. This overload can degrade our communication, creating a cycle of stress and inefficiency. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed and out of control.

While we can’t control others or fix systemic communication issues overnight, we can cultivate new habits. It’s up to us to improve how we connect with people. Small changes in our approach can greatly impact our teams, organizations, and clients. We’re responsible for the signals we send, which can often be muddled by multitasking, rushing, lack of preparation, not listening, or failing to follow up.

Mindfulness can help us regain clarity and focus throughout the day. This doesn’t mean achieving a constant state of Zen—it’s about practical, achievable actions. Effective leaders make genuine connections, positively impact customers, and ensure their teams feel heard and seen. To do this, we must regularly pause, reset, and refocus.

So, what are your coffee beans? In a department store, a salesperson offers coffee beans to smell between different perfumes. This clears the palate, allowing you to fully experience each new scent without lingering odors. Similarly, we need practices to reset ourselves before our next task.

Your version of coffee beans can take many forms. It might be 90 seconds of deep breathing, which calms the nervous system. It could be scheduling small breaks for catching up on follow-ups or paperwork. Perhaps it’s committing to not eating at your desk, taking a break away from the day’s chaos. Maybe it’s a five-minute walk outside, soaking up some sunshine or chatting with a colleague. Find what works best for you.

This week, take time to identify a mindfulness practice you can easily integrate into your day. You owe it to your colleagues, your teams, and most importantly, yourself, to be at your best.

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Does your team:
– Overwhelm the audience with too much detail?
– Make things too complicated?
– Fail to ask for what they want or need?

Does your organization:
– Waste time because of poor internal communication?
– Take too long to make decisions?
– Struggle to clarify and frame discussions?

Do your leaders:
– Exhibit poor executive presence?
– Lean on incomplete communication skills?
– Fail to align the organization?

We transform teams and individuals with repeatable toolsets for persuasive communication. Explore training, coaching, and consulting services from The Latimer Group.