Now everyone has heard about the BIG Five of the Serengeti: The Lion, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard and the Rhino. Their abilities are in clear display through the strength, agility or endurance they demonstrate in the wild environment. But all of these are at the top of the pecking order in the food chain. Studying them to understand self preservation strategy is akin to following the strongest organisations in their tactics for survival. Surely not applicable to smaller firms that are unique in their strengths and capabilities.
To get interesting insights on hunting and survival strategies for smaller businesses, we need to look a little further down the foodchain. Lets consider the “Little Five” of the Serengeti: The Ant Lion, the Elephant Shrew, the Buffalo Weaver, the Leopard Tortoise and the Rhino Beetle. Each of these living forms have used their unique strengths to their advantage in creating survival strategies that have lessons for us all in the world of business.
THE ANT LION: Creating the one way funnel
Lion Ant Traps
The Ant Lion is a small larva like creature that is an expert trap builder specifically for unassuming small creatures such as ants. It builds a conical trap in the loose sand at a perfect angle called the “angle of repose”. At this angle, the loose sand is at that critical slope which will just prevent it from caving in. What this means is that any unwary insect walking into the cone will slip down the slope with the sand giving way under its feet. The Ant Lion lies buried at the narrow end of the cone with its jaws open ready for the ant to fall straight in. Read more about the Ant Lion here.
The skill here is building that perfect cone which will push the target to move towards the intended goal. A consultative selling process is very similar, with customer objections being addressed in a systematic way that leads them towards the narrow part of the sales funnel. As objections are removed, the buy decision will be brought closer to reality, typically leaving price or terms as the deciding criteria. You can then enter the zone of price negotiation and finally acquisition.
THE ELEPHANT SHREW: The inherited gene
Elephant Shrew
It looks like a Shrew - a rodent, and walks, lives and feeds like one. They were named Elephant Shrews because of their elongated snout resembling that of an elephant. Scientists always considered them a rodent because of their appearance. So there was considerable surprise in the early 70s when their genetic make up showed them to belong to a super order of mammals that include Aardvarks and Elephants, rather than the common shrew! Subsequently several interesting behaviours have been observed in Elephant Shrews. Unlike commons shrews, they are intolerant of close neighbors, and should one trespass into the territory, it will be violently evicted, chased out by the male if the intruder is another male or by the female if it is female. Aggressive encounters involve screaming, sparring, snapping and kicking, all of which can happen so rapidly that it appears to be a blur of animals tumbling on the forest floor.
Not everyone has such a disposition, a critical nature for survival. In the business world too aggression can potentially replace other shortcomings. Though, this characteristic needs to be from within - sales personnel need to possess the DNA to defend and harvest their territory aggressively against competition.
LEOPARD TORTOISE: Only crossing the last mile matters
Leopard Turtle
Strength and logevity, two reasons for the leopard tortoise to be very popular not only in the sub-Saharan Africa, but the world over as pets and companions. They are very colourful, resembling their much faster namesake only in the patterns on their shell. Leopard tortoises can live for upto a hundred years, and if there is one message the tortoise gives us, it is of running a marathon.
Business development is all about keeping steadily at it over an extended period of time. Whether is developing a new account or building customer relationships, nothing can replace time. Time breeds familiarity and that in turn builds trust. A complete conviction in the strength of your product and single minded focus applied continuously and re-inforced in every interaction will definitely yield results.
BUFFALO WEAVER: Collaborate to succeed, compete to survive
Buffalo Weaver
Weavers are interesting birds that show how to collaborate for the benefit of the team, but then within the team compete for self preservation. Buffalo weavers not only live in colonies, they are also polygamous. They come together to build a complex network of communal nests. They forage and feed in flocks of thousands and aggressively defend their nests as a group against predators. Yet when it comes to their own quarters within their communal nest, they fight for the right of mating as well as protecting their space with all their might.
Sales teams need to collaborate to succeed. Best practices are good for all to put into practice. With this sharing, the group will perform at its highest potential. But internal competition should be actively encouraged. Creating league tables and recognising top achievers will motivate all performers to yearn to be at pole position.
RHINO BEETLE: Grow Bigger than Your Problem
- Rhino Beetle
When you think of strongest animals it is easy to refer to elephants or rhinos in terms of their ability to carry weight or build up momentum with their weight. But in terms of ability to carry weight relative to their own, the Rhino Beetle beats all of them hands down. Whereas an elephant can carry upto 25% of its own weight, the Rhino beetle takes the top position in moving 850 times its own weight!
[...] Hunting Lessons of Survival from the Little Five [...]
Love the way you’ve taken the strengths of these animals and turned them into characteristics that a business needs to adapt to be successful. Very Creative!
I would love to hear your thoughts on the following. Most of these animals possess a particular strength and they use it as a primary method for survival. A Leopard Turtle doesn’t get aggressive like an Elephant Shrew nor does a Buffalo Weaver go solo like an Antlion. Shouldn’t a firm focus on one or two strategies and make sure they are best in it rather than trying to implement several different strategies.
Sapan - you are absolutely right. The strategy chosen has to be suitable for the market you are in or the specific sector you are targeting. To simplify for the sake of comparison - Where the service or product is commoditised, the sales team needs to be aggressive and territorial. When you are selling a highly differentiated product, a complex sale, it needs the resilience of a marathon runner. I have been in both these extremes and have seen the difference in their respective sales teams.
Some other examples are sheer inspiration - the Rhino beetle, provides this to anyone facing a ‘unsurmountable’ challenge!
Thanks for your comments.