We’ve set the clocks back to Real Time, the obnoxious music is playing in the stores, and most of my Halloween candy has been consumed. That can only mean one thing: Winter. Not that I object all that much to the cold weather, it’s all the inconveniences that come along with the package.
Yesterday I was staring out the window, watching squirrels prepare for winter; how they hide nuts, yet manage to find enough to survive the winter when the snow falls. It says much about self-preservation and long-term survival. (And by the way, even when a writer is staring out the window he’s still working.)
It got me to thinking and searching my mental database for how comparable things in nature might be reflected in the business world. In business it’s all about teamwork and cooperation for survival. That’s survival of the company, of course, at the expense of the individual.
I thought of a group of European Starlings I watched recently. A Cooper’s Hawk approached the loosely flying flock. Immediately the flock of hundreds of birds took on the appearance of a distant thunder cloud. No bird wanted to be on the outside of the cluster. It was every bird for itself. Someone on the outside was going to be Mr. Cooper’s lunch.
So much for security in numbers, teamwork and all that group survival stuff. The question becomes, which, or what matters most? Maybe the squirrels have it right–we’re all in this alone.
Remember last winter? So, where’s the peanuts stashed?
Witt’s End 