Two weeks ago, we started to look into the animal kingdom to help you to find novel ways to look at your business situation. Today, we continue this approach by observing the survival strategies of four other animals — and also have a look at the strategic approach of a famous African tribe that shares the territory with the African wild animals.

5. The Elephant: Size does matter

Elephants are the largest land mammals on earth — and do not need to fear any of the carnivores of the Maasai Mara given their huge size and the fact that they walk the plains of Africa in family groups. Not even lions will dare to attack a family of elephants (although they might be easily able to bring down an isolated baby elephant). Elephants enjoy a comfortable life because of their size and thanks to the fact that they stick together in their community of huge animals. So ask yourself:

• What is the optimum size for your business?
• How can you grow in size to become so big and powerful to ensure comfortable survival?
• How can you associate yourself with a powerful, strong group that allows you to protect your interests and to undisturbedly go about your business?

6. The Warthog: Develop character

Although not particularly beautiful, most safari guests deeply enjoy every encounter with warthogs and agree that these are animals with a lot of character. Usually, warthogs peacefully graze the pastures alongside other herbivores. However, once under attack by lions and other predators, a warthog turns into a ferocious fighter and defends itself with its sharp snout out of a sheltering burrow that it has entered backside first. Warthogs run in a very funny way with their tails pointing straight up like an antenna, and — very interestingly — they often “humble themselves” by kneeling down with their front legs to more easily reach food with their snouts. Here are your lessons to be learned from warthogs by contemplating on the following questions:

• How can you develop and cultivate a true, unique character for yourself or your business?
• And how can you find the right balance between humbleness, peaceful cooperation and courageous fighting in order to better reach your goals?
• How can you create a refuge or shelter that provides you a safe haven for survival in times when the going gets tough?

7. Vultures: Living comfortably from a job that others despise

Vultures and other scavengers such as hyenas and jackals are often reviled for the job they are doing. However, everything in nature serves a special purpose, and vultures exist for the very reason of quickly cleaning up what other animals have left over in the animal world (which is very necessary given the hot African climate). In our human kingdom, there are also countless opportunities that not many people want to do — such as providing a particular service, working at odd hours or looking for opportunities in less attractive locations.

Insofar allow the vultures to teach you a lesson by probing:

• How to satisfy an unfulfilled need or unmet demand by doing the job that nobody wants to do?
• What jobs are not particularly “sexy” but very important and need to be done — so that only a few specialists share this big and growing pie?

8. The Zebra: Be SMART! The world is more than just black and white

Zebras are very smart herbivores — and as such, they understand that the world is more than just black and white. Zebras use every opportunity to improve the quality of their lives — or to stay alive longer — by making use of the strengths and weaknesses of other herbivores for their benefit. Two examples: (1) Zebras often can be spotted in the vicinity of a giraffe which is eating leaves from a high tree; some of the leaves and twigs ripped off the tree by the giraffe fall to the ground, and who is there to get its share of the juicy and nutritious leaves of the tree? The Zebra. (2) When it comes to the crossing of the dangerous, crocodile-infested Mara River, Zebras patiently wait at the shore of the river until the slower and less bright wildebeests make the first move into the water. Once all crocodiles busy themselves with a wildebeest, it’s the Zebras’ time to get wet and to quickly and safely cross the river.

Following Zebras’ example may raise the questions:

• In what ways do you not realize opportunities because you don’t see that the world is more than just black and white?
• How can you follow your goals by engaging the help of other partners outside of the narrow constraints of your particular black and white world?

9. The Maasai: The Power of Myth and Mystery

Finally, let’s expand our view to include a famous tribe that is a harmonious neighbor of the African animal kingdom. The Maasai are well reputed across Africa as a tribe of proud and fearless warriors. What is really striking though is the number of legends and countless mystical and mysterious stories involving the Maasai that you hear throughout Kenya. Many Kenyans believe that the courageous Maasai possess secret powers that make big animals such as elephants, or rhinos or even lions go out of their way.

The Maasai have created a myth of being really different and special, mysterious and invincible — and no-one knows the secret behind their power (or if there is one at all): Is it their red clothes? Their red-dyed hair? Their special smell? Is it their diet that solely consists of animal blood, meat and milk? Is it their fearless attitude? Their confident shouts and chants? In any case, it is obvious that the Maasai are distinctly different from all other Kenyans and have managed to create a myth of invincibility and of being mysterious and special. Consequently, all other Kenyan people (and wild animals according to legend) don’t want to get too deeply involved with them. And so the Maasai can go about their business without any external disturbances.

Learn from the Maasai by finding your right answers to the following questions:

• How to develop your unique distinct profile and thereby obtain a high level of attraction?
• How to create a myth of invincibility and a secret mystery that makes all peers want to stay out of your way?

© Dr. Detlef Reis 2008. This article was published in parallel in the Bangkok Post under the same title on 6 November 2008.