Why the quill of a baby porcupine is soft at birth, corporate leaders should know

The skin of a mouse when born is transparent and only later it become dark and hairy. So is a porcupine as its quills are very soft, when a porcupine is born.

The transparent skin turns to rough, dull, opaque and dark with age. Through the transparent skin of a baby mouse, even the flow of milk from the mouth to the stomach can be seen from outside. Similarly, the contents in the stomach can be seen well through the skin.

It is true for porcupine also. The quills of the porcupine are soft at birth and become strong in hours after its birth. What management message does nature conveys to the corporate from the above?

When they are born, either for a baby mouse or a porcupine, naturally the parents offer protection, care and concern. The young ones are delivered in safe place as well. But with time, the protection would end and the young ones have to safeguard them. To survive successfully in the competitive world, neither the mouse nor porcupine can afford to have either the transparent skin or soft quill. Hence the transparent skin and soft quill turn to rough and hard. Such change is necessary for their survival.

Every employee when join a corporate are either like a baby mouse or a baby porcupine. They believe that the corporate is fair and equal opportunity is available to all. They join with great dream and hope. The moment they realize the fact that nothing is fair and honest in the corporate world, their transparent skin and soft quill become rough and hard. From a transparent state they shift to a hiding state. Many of their soft and innocent work style of the employees become piercing bossism or dominating type mainly due to survival necessity in the corporate world.

Only the corporate culture and corporate realities make many innocent employees to become crooked and manipulative. Either the culture may directly support the same or may make the employees to resort to such unhealthy practices. Corporate needs to do a 'culture check up' in the organization to help people perform in the best way by preserving their innate talents instead of allowing them to be 'show masters' and sycophants.

The corporate HR needs to exert an extra alertness and vigil not only in knowing how different employees conduct themselves in the corporate but why and how such behavioural traits are occurring in the employees. Treating the culture along with the people should be the approach than offering bundle of HR trainings to people.

Reference: Management Book – Jungle wisdom for corporate management – lessons from university of nature by Swami Sukhabodhananda and Dr S Ranganathan