Leadership insight from rats and mice

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Most rodents in general and rats, squirrels and mice in particular, always chew or gnaw anything and everything around them.  As a result of that, these animals cause great problem to mankind, causing huge economic and other related losses.   For a while if we ask, why these creatures gnaw everything around them so indiscriminately.  Is their intension is only to cause problem to man and destroy his valuables.  If so, why these animals have developed such hatred or enmity towards man?      

 

The above question and the answer to the above question have a very important management message for the corporate leaders to learn and follow.  The rodents in general and rats, mice, squirrels in particular, have ever-growing teeth.  The teeth of these animals continuously grow to help these animals to overcome the possibility of their teeth getting worn off during eating many things.  This is indeed an advantage to the animal.  But the advantage is indeed problem as well.  Even if the teeth don’t get worn off, they grow continuously.   Continuous growth of their teeth is not taking any signal for its growth as to whether to grow or not, according to the need.

 

The rodents, hence has the responsibility to keep its ever growing teeth under check otherwise the advantage would becomes a problem/disadvantage.  If the teeth were allowed to grow without any check, the animal may not able to either open or close its mouth due the ‘long’, ‘grotesque’ and ‘order less’ growth of the teeth.  Hence, the rats, mice and squirrels constantly gnaw or chew anything and everything around them to size their teeth.   

 

By gnawing, the rodents are really solving their problem.  Some people in the corporate do constantly create problems to others and fight and quarrel with others frequently.  Indeed they cause great ‘problem’ and ‘nuisance’ to the corporate.  But the corporate leadership and especially the HR function has to view such people only with the understanding and not with anger. 

 

They cause problems to others because they are under some problem.  Only to solve their problem, they cause problem to others like how rodents gnaw everything to restrict the growth of their teeth.  They are doing the same more as a solution to their problem and not with the intent of causing problems to others.

 

This is what the HR function and the corporate leadership have to understand.  ‘Your problem’ is ‘our problem’ should be the philosophy, the corporate leadership should follow.  The corporate leadership should never follow the principle of the ‘problems’ of the employees is their problem and it is different from the ‘problems’ of the corporate and vice versa.  Only through an all inclusive approach, harmony and growth of the corporate can be ensured and established. 

 

Whenever the corporate leadership sees the damage of their valuable wood works or electrical or electronic utilities, must remember the above message.   Never discard anything as useless or nothing is there to learn from it.  Even from the gnawing/destroying behaviour of rodents, great management lesson can be learned. 

 

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

 

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