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If penguins can march - so can we
I just finished watching the amazing documentary "March of the Penguins" and could not help but think how incredible the animal world is. Even without an MBA or any other type of formal training, animals (in this case penguins) have somehow captured what many business owners fail to grasp, even after years of education and experience.
Over the years, these penguins have managed to evolve (read: continuous improvement) and adapt to the most brutal of all climates. Every year they leave the comfort of their home and march over 70 miles, overcoming enormous obstacles to gather in a place where every penguin for thousands of years has been born. According to the documentary, they endure temperatures of over 58 degrees below zero and winds in excess of 100 miles per hour. They do this while procreating their species in a manner that can only be appreciated by watching the movie.
We as business owners should observe these creatures and learn at least 2 valuable lessons from them. The first is the requirement to be continually improving our processes, and the second is to follow the processes with absolute precision.
Too many times, business owners run their company by "winging it." Though they may be successful for a period of time, the odds are overwhelming that eventually they will make a fatal mistake and all will be lost. Taking our cue from the animal world should be a lesson in humility for us. The animals probably don't understand why they do what they do; they just know that it works.
Entrepreneurs don't need to understand why developing processes and following them work, they just need to do it. Nature didn't happen by "winging it", but rather methodically through continuous improvement and doing what works, every time. If penguins can march - so can we.
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