Seven tips to thrive beyond survival
By Vincent Muli Wa Kituku
Saturday, August 18, 2007 9:27 PM PDT
As of this writing, Micron — with headquarters in Boise, the hometown of Kituku & Associates — has announced and laid-off more than 800 employees, in what seems the first phase of an uncertain future. Just a few weeks ago, Citigroup embarked on the task of eliminating more than 17,000 positions.
These are unpredictable times, as they have been for about 20 years. Whether you work for a public or corporate organization, or you run your own business, you must be prepared to meet each day’s challenges, with the tenacity used by jungle animals to not only survive but thrive to reproduce and perpetuate their kind. Learning to act and change fast is a must.
In the past, I have used the well known analogy that partly states, “… it does matter whether you are a lion or gazelle, when the sun is up you better be running.” But what you might not know are other intrinsic and unpublicized skills and strategies that animals in African jungles use to live, that also applies 100 percent to anyone with a job and expects a thriving future.
Here are a few pointers.
Know your jungle. Lions and other beasts don’t just keep their head down and enjoy their meal.
From time to time, they lift their heads and check out their environment. Are you up to date with what is going on in your line of work? What immediate challenges need addressed? What are the signs of the times?
Educate others. How does what you do make life better for people? Do people (your boss or the public) know about it? When people don’t have information about your products or services they create their own perception and that to them is reality.
Target achievable goals. Lions only target a buffalo they can handle. What matters is to succeed in the goal you set (see how they do it at http://haha.nu:80/amazing/battle-at-kruger). It is an amazing video of thriving beyond survival in the jungle.
Team up with others. Challenges and opportunities can only be realized to the fullest in the ‘we’ setting — not the I perspective. Both lions and buffaloes use the power of team. Who is in your team? Do they know what each should be doing? A top teams’ performance is a reflection of several individuals performances put together.
Plan of attack. Lions arrange themselves immediately after spotting the buffaloes, or any other prey. In time of challenges, a simple plan on how to move forward might be exactly what is needed to enable a whole organization to navigate through the turbulent landscapes of change.
Take charge. What can we say about the first buffalo that decides it’s time to kick a lion? You are in charge of making change work. There are times when you have to take the initiative and do what needs to be done.
Prepare for unknown, expected challenges. I grew up in Kenya and I never saw or has it ever occurred to me, that lions would struggle against crocodiles for a meal. Lions fought with hyenas, but if a lions prey ends up in a crocodiles infested river, crocodiles become another factor the lions have to deal with. That suggests your competition is not limited to the easily identified competitors.
Shae wrote on Apr 21, 2009 11:57 AM: