Thursday, February 18, 2010

Lion v. Buffalo

A lot of times, opportunity is defined by perspective. First, consider you are a buffalo roaming the plains of somewhere grassy, like in this video. You see the tigers, and realize: things are going poorly for somebody today. What should you do? Well, I have never been to buffalo survival school, but it seems like the best idea is to stay in the middle of the pack and hope one of your buddies blows out a knee. You may be thinking "Ah, you have forgotten the possibility that the tiger get's nobody! That is what I would hope for." But, you are wrong. If the tigers fails to eat my buddy, you just have some really hungry tigers. Based on the fact that there are still tigers, something tells me they will eat before too long. If you live in a buffalo herd, you want to surround yourself by weaker buffaloes, because if you are the slowest, you are lunch.

Let's review: the best potential outcome is that one of your buddies dies, and the worst outcome is that none of your buddies dies and you took one for the team. How do you win? Why do you play? It seems like you are just waiting for your time to go...so switch sides.

Consider this game from the perspective of the tiger. Instead of hoping to not die, you are chasing the herd, waiting for an opportunity to present itself. Hopefully, it is you that makes the strike, because there is something wonderful about leading the chase. But, if your buddy makes the strike and you just come and join him for some chow, that is not bad either. The only thing that sucks is if your whole crew fails to deliver. If you live in a tiger...I cannot remember the name...gaggle, you want to surround yourself with the most powerful buddies you can. You hope for their success while working aggressively to achieve success yourself. This seems like a fun game.

If you find yourself in a job where you are trying to position yourself against your co-workers so that you are not the one that gets fired, switch teams (or create a new team). Hunt for opportunities. Go for the kill but support your buddy and hope he succeeds as well.

Matt

1 comment:

  1. What about buying a forty at the 7-11? Is that like a tiger or a buffalo?

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