Coyotes Are Cool!
By Adrian W. Savage
What Singing Dogs Can Teach Us About Success
I like coyotes. They're tough, adaptable and always themselves,
without concern for what so-called civilized folk think of them.
We've stolen their habit for our master planned communities and
malls, so they've moved in with us and stolen ours. They're also
original, authentic, proud and expressive.
Of course, sometimes they're bad as well. Round here, they have a
regrettable tendency to eat people's small pets. In Native
American lore, they're tricky and liable to mess you up if you
don't watch them. But, hey, they're also playful and spontaneous,
and they're never dull.
Who would you rather listen to? A guy in a suit or a singing dog
under a wild moon?
Maybe Conventional Sucks
Conventional thinking has got us where we are today. And if it's
produced some great benefits, it's produced some equally massive
problems. We won't solve the problems by using the same
approaches that created them in the first place. Nor will
conventional thinking produce many new ideas, especially if it's
been worked to death by everyone from marketing gurus to media
hacks.
And Maybe Those Coyotes Can Teach Us Something
The first lesson is to forget idealism. Now there's nothing wrong
with having ideals -- even some perfectly pleasant people have
them -- but they do tend to block the willingness to adapt.
What's made the coyote so successful is adaptability. These guys
are realists. If you can't change it, exploit it.
Next, be yourself. Well, heck, it's tough to be anyone else, but
some of us spend a lifetime trying. As Shania says in the song,
"That don't impress me much." It don't impress anyone else much
either. You are who you are and you won't easily change that. Why
bother? Just be the best version of who you are and you'll be
fine. You'll also be authentic instead of a fake.
Sometimes little coyote boogers wake me up in the middle of the
night having a riotous party somewhere in the wash behind my
house. Lots of singing and probably a few beers. They really know
how to have fun. Corporate America has lost that skill. Most
companies aren't fun to work for. It's all so damn serious and
heavy. But fun is the best source of creativity. Stamp it out and
innovation goes along with it.
It's Okay To Be Bad Too
Not nasty and vicious or downright evil, but just a little
mischievous and rough around the edges. Who would you trust more?
Some person you know is inclined to be a little tricky on
occasions, or a city slicker who pretends to be so-o-o honest but
you suspect will stab you in the back as soon as look at you?
When I was young, the really interesting girls were usually
described as "no better than she should be." Well, hell, that
sounds about right to me. Why should anyone be better that they
should be, except to create a false image to cover something
worse?
Here's to being just as good as we need to be...and not even a
tiny bit more!
Adrian W. Savage writes for people who want help with the daily
dilemmas they face at work. He has contributed more than 25
articles to leading British and American publications and has
been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA
Today and The Chicago Tribune.
Visit his blog on the ups and downs of business life.
http://www.adriansavage.com/
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