Be safe when you risk, there is not contradiction, learn from herbivores

The management book - jungle wisdom for corporate management has lot to offer to the corporate in toto....

Are there any cud chewing animals in the corporate? Those who know the feeding biology of the ruminants (herbivores like cattle, goats, sheep, giraffes, bison, moose, elk, yaks, water buffalo, deer, camels, llamas, antelope etc.,) will necessarily understand the definition of cud chewing but still they may wonder how such animals (people) could exist in a corporate?

All most all the ruminants eat the grass and other green plants; usually they cut and swallow as fast as they could. After complete eating, the ungulates moves to a safe place and then regurgitate the food back to the mouth to grind and then swallow it again.

Only after the cud chewing process is complete, the food enters the next phase of digestion and subsequent absorption or assimilation.

All ungulates are generally the prey animals to many predators. The place where plenty of food is available for these ungulates is not always safe. The place which is safe generally will not have sufficient vegetation to these animals to eat. Hence none of these animals can afford to be in a safe place for ever, which is truly safe. If they prefer only safety in their life means, they will be inviting starvation and death. Similarly, these animals cannot afford to live in a place where food is available in abundance as such places are also filled with risk and danger.

The only thing these animals know is that they have to take risk and also have to be safe. The first management lesson to be learned from the above is that opportunity always comes with threat or risk and safety with poor or lack of opportunity.

The important lesson the corporate has to learn should not be limited to the opportunity and threat. What the ungulate ate much before only they 'cud chew' later. Post cud chewing, the food get digested and assimilated. The undigested portion of the food is excreted out.

Cud chewing always helps the animal to digest the food and be healthy. Anything which is useless is eliminated.

Corporate do have plenty of people who 'cud chew' their past more often. All most all the experiences, they cud chew regularly like how ruminants do. How the corporate employees differ from the ruminants in the cud chewing behaviour is very interesting.

In the case of ruminants, post cud chewing, assimilation and excretion of the food occur but in the case of corporate man, 'cud chewing' process continue for ever where there is no excretion and assimilation of the past events or experiences happens. If assimilation and excretion is the by-product of cud chewing in corporate man, learning newer things and forgetting the needless would occur. In such circumstances, the employees never carry any complain or grief nor do they allow the past to whip them constantly.

Even from such common behaviour of the ruminants, one can learn a great management concept.

How wonderfully nature has approached the entire creation of flora and fauna with great management understanding. From a mere observation and interpretation of the nature, one can learn endlessly. But what the corporate man requires is attitude and leaning passion. Learn and ask to yourself whether you are a 'cud chewing' animal or a 'cud chewing' man in the corporate.

Ref: Jungle Wisdom for Corporate Management — Lessons from University of Nature: Swami Sukhabodhananda, S. Ranganathan; Prasanna Trust, No. 51, Ground Floor, 16 Cross Between 6 and 8 Main, Malleswaram, Bangalore, India