Memory and purpose orientation

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Squirrels aggressively gather and burry nuts under soil during spring in order to use these nuts during winter months, where food availability is highly limited.  One can call squirrels to be very futuristic or well organized. 

 

The interesting point about the squirrels is that they forget the large proportions of the nuts they had buried.  Invariably they dig out the nuts of other squirrels and eat during winter.  Interestingly, less conflicts is only encountered among squirrels because the forgetfulness is seen across in all squirrels.

 

The point is not about forgetting what had stored so preciously for winter.  One needs to know why they forget.  If squirrels were so forgetful animals, they would not have even remembered about the winter and the possible shortage of food.  How then they would have gathered and stored the nuts. 

 

While gathering and storing nuts, perhaps, they are possibly only in the doing mode.  They are seriously engaged in gathering and burying nuts under soil.  They might have been doing the above mechanically.  Once the ‘doing’ is completed, only then they may be start thinking.  Naturally when someone does something without proper thinking, they tend to forget the same.

 

The message to be drawn by the corporate is that many employees behave exactly like squirrels.  They are excellent workers.  But when they are asked to explain, they behave as if they know nothing.  They know only to do things and nothing beyond that.  They work like a machine. 

 

Guide the people to keep remembering about the purpose and intent of the assignment while doing.  Once the link is lost, the purpose and the effort remain separate. 

 

Many corporate employees do not know how to explain about what they are doing.  This limitation of people is well utilized by the ‘people managers’.  Do not be like a squirrel in working hard and forget later, what you have done. 

 

The problem is not about memory or remembering things, but is all about the purpose orientation.  Too much of doing mode will certainly cause the above problem.   The corporate in most instances never help such people.  When ‘doers’ are there to do the job continuously, why to educate them to be aware of what and why they are doing.  As long as people are unaware of such realities, they work like a machine with least expectation and ambition.  Every corporate generally likes to have ‘human machine’ than ‘human beings’.

 

Kindle your inner thoughts and ask are you working like a squirrel in your corporate.  If so, help yourself as no one will ever come to help you to free from your stupidity and ignorance.

 

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

 

Learn more from the management book – ‘Jungle wisdom for corporate management- lessons from university of nature’ by Swami Sukhabodhananda and Dr S Ranganathan

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