Tag Archives: life lessons

June 18, 2013 · 9:02 am

Learning From Cheetahs

Every once in a while I find something in the world of science that teaches me something about business. Such was the case the other day as I read an article about cheetahs in the N.Y. Times. No, this isn’t going to be some clever pun about cheetahs never winning (sorry) but about how many businesses can learn something from the cheetah’s hunting tactics.

Cheetah

(Photo credit: fatedsnowfox)

As the article said:

Anyone who has watched a cheetah run down an antelope knows that these cats are impressively fast. But it turns out that speed is not the secret to their prodigious hunting skills: a novel study of how cheetahs chase prey in the wild shows that it is their agility — their skill at leaping sideways, changing directions abruptly and slowing down quickly — that gives those antelope such bad odds.

Cheetahs don’t actually go very fast when they’re hunting,” said Alan M. Wilson, a professor at the Royal Veterinary College at the University of London who studied cheetahs in Botswana and published a paper about them on Wednesday in the journal Nature. “The hunt is much more about maneuvering, about acceleration, about ducking and diving to capture the prey.”

How many times have you read something urging businesses to “fail fast?”  I think that’s a misnomer – it’s not about failing; it’s about learning and having the cheetah-like agility to change direction.  Just as cheetahs don’t go full-out fast when hunting (they’re capable of running 65 MPH – they might hunt at 35 MPH), maybe those of us in business need to learn to slow down a tad so we can turn.  I think it’s also about being able to see the landscape more clearly as you’re moving more slowly.  As you know if you’ve ever looked sideways out of a car going 60, things are pretty blurry when you’re moving fast.

There’s an expression in racing – slow down to go fast.  I like that a lot better than “haste makes waste.”  Given the pace of change, it’s important to have the capability to run like the cheetah.  It’s equally important to know when that speed is something to sacrifice in order to have a successful hunt.  You agree?

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June 12, 2013 · 8:54 am

Hitting The Line

If you’ve ever played  or watched tennis, one thing you know is that the players seem to approach each point with a plan.

tennis

(Photo credit: Marc Di Luzio)

To a certain extent they play the points backward – what shot do I want to set up, which positioning and speed of the serve will let me do that, and where do I want to hit it?  Part of the equation involves moving the opponent around, far away from your intended target.  Ideally, you can hit it just next to a sideline or the baseline depending on your plan.  The nearer to the line the shot lands, the more likely it is to be a winner.  There’s also an increased chance you lose the point by hitting it out.

Often when one watches high-speed Motorsports, the “high line” is the one that many drivers choose on an oval course.  Generally, the racing groove nearest the wall allows the cars to go faster even if they’re travelling a slightly longer distance (think of concentric circles – low vs. high).  It’s better to go faster and generally the high line is way to do that.  It’s also the line closest to the wall.  Hit the wall – go over the line – and you’re done.

There are similar analogies in golf (aiming for a target along a preferred line with a hazard line along the same flight path) and baseball (bunting very near a base line almost always works better for a hit than closer to the pitcher but it’s just as likely to be a strike for a foul ball).  What each of the athletes involved needs to do is to develop a plan that revolves around their tolerance for risk and the availability of a reward.  You might get spectacular results and you just might cross the line, crash, and burn.

Think of those athletes as you approach your business.  What’s your tolerance for risk?  Is the value of the reward worth going over the line?  I think most great athletes hit those lines – the places where very few can put themselves consistently and win.  To me, that sounds like a pretty good business plan if you can tolerate the risk.  You?

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May 30, 2013 · 8:38 am

The Grind

When you’re done reading this, how about you try writing your own screed?  You don’t have to jump on a fancy CMS or anything – just whip out a pen and your old-fashioned pad or open up a text editor and bang away.  See if you can get to 300 words or so.  Go ahead – I’ll wait.

photo by Randall Niles on Flickr

Done?  That wasn’t so hard I’ll bet – most of us have a thing or two on our minds or at least can assemble a few cogent thoughts about what we had for breakfast or a work-related project.  Maybe it was even fun.  Now do it again.  And again.

Here’s the thing: doing something once can be fun. Doing it day after day can be crushing, especially if it’s not something you enjoy.  Writing isn’t easy for some people just as public speaking terrifies others (and I’ve even known folks for whom speaking to two other people counts as public speaking!).  I enjoy writing almost as much as I enjoy the interaction and feedback I get from lobbing it out there day after day but I’m not going to lie and say that it’s always easy to crank out the screed (which I consider part of my work).  The fact that I enjoy it makes the grind of doing it bearable.

I suspect that what ever “grind” feelings we might harbor about our daily lives they’re compounded by the almost universal feeling that THERE’S JUST NO TIME.  Work never stops since we’re always plugged in.  Social media is a time suck.  Then there’s the other media – TV, music, reading books (remember those?) .  So how does one deal with it?

  • If you’re not happy with your job, start to think about another one.   I know that’s easier said then done but if you don’t start the journey you’ll never get to the destination.
  • Unplug.  Seriously.  Even for a day.  It’s like a big gulp of oxygen and it will all be there when you get back.
  • Change your perspective.  If you’re reading this on a laptop, flip it upside down.  Completely different experience  right?  Look out a window from which you never look out.  Sit in the back seat of your own car and let someone else drive you.  You never know what silly little perspective change will be a major life adjustment (trust me as a guy who’s had a couple).

If it’s not fun more than once,  stop doing whatever it is before it becomes a grind.  You see, at some point anything we do over and over does become one.  In my mind, what’s getting ground is our spirit and our souls and we need to keep those around.  What do you think?

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