Most consider the alligator to be a vicious and deadly animal. And in a sense they are right, given that alligators are prone to unprovoked attacks, which often result in the victim being seriously injured, or worse.
Yet I believe there is much good in alligators, and that business people can learn some valuable lessons from this misunderstood and maligned creature:
- Lay low until the time is right. Alligators mostly stay out of sight until they see an opportunity. Then they quickly seize the moment and pounce. Opportunity for them is clamping their jaws on a person until he or she is either rescued or dies. Your opportunity might be coming up with an improved method of re-calibrating variances. But the principle is the same either way: Lay in wait – and then pounce.
- Mark your territory. Alligators bellow loudly to attract mates and warn off rivals by sucking air into their lungs and blowing it out in intermittent, deep-toned roars. This is difficult to pull off in an office environment – and often frowned upon by Human Resources – but you need to do something to make it clear that your territory is your territory. Do it like the alligator, just not as loudly.
- Accept Yourself. If any species has reason to be self-conscious, it’s the alligator – given its three-foot jaw filled with sharp jagged teeth, and its rough leathery skin. Yet the alligator has all the confidence in the world, and expects not only to be invited to every social function, but also to have its jokes laughed at. If an alligator can feel this way, why can’t you?
- Get plenty of rest: You can’t make rapid-fire decisions in a high-pressure environment if you’re exhausted all the time. On the average, an alligator spends just ten minutes per month in attack mode. The other 29 days, 23 hours and 50 minutes are spent sleeping, sunning and lolling along lakesides and riverbanks. Now there’s no way a successful business person can sleep and sun so much – and of course excessive lolling is never good for a career – but to function effectively you need at least four hours sleep per night, plus occasional daytime naps, which can be taken during research presentations.
