ZGAGA

I used to be a proud owner of two ducklings. There were Indian Runners. I kept them near my house. It is widely known that these ducks are the best red slug exterminators, and they indeed were.

Of course, you have to keep them from the dangers, like the other animals that would probably prefer having them for dinner, the most common being martens, foxes and dogs.

During our family vacation I took them to a farm. They got a five star treatment – a plastic pool with fresh water, corn, lots of slugs, snails, worms and beetles on their menu. They enjoyed it a lot.

Until they disappeared. Nobody was sure what in fact happened. Until an older lady explained how the nature took its toll. She was sure it was a fox. And what startled me was the fact that the fox was planning to take my ducklings from the first day they arrived to the farm. Foxes plan the attack days ahead. This is how they get what they want. They first observe, plan and tactically attack. And the prize in this case was surely delicious.

Can we learn a lesson from nature that would help our business? Don’t you think it’s funny that an animal instinctively does what we should as well, but don’t?

We,  higher developed creatures, always think to ourselves, why should we repeat after an animal? Animals don’t think, there is nothing to copy for our own good. Well, this is not exactly true. Think only about inventing the plane – we copied the flight of animals. What about the different styles of swimming – if we resemble the style of an animal, we are quicker. There are many more examples on that.

We, the civilized, have become too spoiled to think like animals do, even though we still use expressions attributing some animal characteristics to those we know. He is a cunning fox, she is hungry like a wolf and the child sings like a canary. Many among us are night owls, are quick as a bunny when we are in a hurry and can be quiet as a mouse.

Sometimes I get the feeling that not only we don’t want to think what to learn from nature, but also that we actually don’t want to think at all. In the nature the living creatures focus on preserving their breed and therefore reproduction. They will do everything to feed the little and survive.

We invented money, which in most cases takes off these heavy chores for us. It is much easier to buy kindergarten, schools, doctors to take care. In return we only give them money. Simple. We also buy food with money. Most of us don’t have an idea of how the food is actually produced to once have it on our plates. But it doesn’t really matter to us, as long as we are full.

The money spoils everything. With the money we are not forced to think how things are done, how things should be done and how we could make them better. We just buy them. Why bother thinking all those things? We have come to the point to think that the money could buy us also someone who would think instead of us, who would tell us what the purpose of our life is, who would bring a meaning to it. Think about the consultants, advisers and other people of making a living with helping you think.

Guess what. Money can’t help you with that. Thinking is a task we have to do on our own. The fox didn’t count on anyone to help it with catching and killing my ducklings. It knew she had to find food. It prepared as it was seen many times before observing that part of the farm and succeed to find a hearty meal for it and its family.

We don’t prepare, we don’t observe, we don’t act. Actually we see others prepare, observe and act, but rather envy them and turn away from them. And invent a lame excuse why we are not like them.

Wouldn’t it be better to learn from them and take care of ourselves for a change?

Let us lie in wait for opportunities and make a plan how we will take advantage of it. Let’s do this for our organization, let it flourish like a green bay tree. Let others see you grow and succeed.

Therefore, stop running around like a headless chicken. Observe, prepare and act.