When male Komodo dragon is not available... a corporate message

The reproductive biology of Komodo dragons indeed follows an extraordinary management principle or approach that would be greatly useful to the corporate if the corporate attempts to learn or understand the same.

The scientists have discovered that the female Komodo dragon can reproduce without the help of a male partner. Such type of reproduction is called as 'parthenogenesis' in biology.

Why and how such type of reproduction is possible to such a massive and well developed animal like Komodo dragon?

One of the presumed reasons for the above process of reproduction is the obvious non availability of a suitable male partner. Only such possibility would have pushed the female Komodo dragon to reproduce by means of parthenogenesis. Natured has ensured that the female Komodo dragons should not loose the reproductive capability or the opportunity (season) due to the non availability of a male partner. Hence they are given with such unique capability to reproduce by means of parthenogenesis.

The most important learning point is not about parthenogenesis or Komodo dragon. The mind boggling thing is that all the offspring of Komodo dragon born by means of parthenogenesis are males. Look at the beauty of evolution. When male was not available for reproduction, the female still reproduced through a unique process called 'parthenogenesis' and interestingly she has produced only male offspring.

It appears to be like she wants to ensure that the next generation female Komodo dragons should not have such problems i.e. non availability of male partners for reproduction. Only through cross mating, she knows, the genetic mix is possible and only such offspring could survive well. What she did not have, she doesn't want her succors also to undergo or experience or suffer.

In corporate, most people wish that what is not available to them or provided to them or possible to them, should continue to the rest in the organization as well. If someone doesn't get promotion or good increment, they never wish others getting them. They even work secretly to ensure that others don't get either promotion or better increment. More than they working to get the best for them, they seriously engage in others not getting promotion or good increments. It is not what they do not have makes them sad but what others have only pushes them to the abyss of sorrow.

People in the corporate must learn from the Komodo dragons that instead of getting slave to what is not there for them, their effort should be to ensure that such limitations shall not affect the next generation and that is what is called 'corporate wellness'. In corporate, everyone should carry such vision and working style only then a 'collective and total' success can be achieved. The HR function must promote such leaders and leadership element in corporate.

Dr S Ranganathan, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai

Learn more from the following management books
1. Jungle wisdom for corporate management – lessons from the university of nature by Swami Sukhabodhananda and Dr S Ranganathan

2. Nature – The Entrepreneur by Dr S Ranganathan