D

1. The prey catching or hunting strategy of the rattle snakes conveys a finest management
message to the corporate world. Unlike other snakes that use ‘constriction’ technique
to kill its prey, the rattle snakes employ the technique of ‘self belief’ and ‘complete
understanding’ of its ‘effort and consequence’ in catching its prey.
The rattle snake rattles its tail both to detract its enemies and also to attract its prey.
Once the prey is at the reachable distance, the snake gallops onto the prey and then
bites to inject the venom. Once, the venom is injected into the prey, the snake moves
away. It knows that the venom would certainly kill the prey. This shows the confidence
and the complete understanding of the weapon that the rattle snake has used.
The prey, however, runs away from the snake, hoping that it could save itself from its
predator. But it doesn’t know the poison is anyway going to kill it. The snake, after
biting the prey, never show any restlessness to catch the prey, it calmly moves to search
the prey after a while. It knows that, it can definitely find the prey as it would have
died.
Every corporate should have a strategy to keep its employees to do the job defined to
them. The corporate should know how to make its employees responsible, committed
and task centric. The corporate also must have the strategy to know and understand
the actual performance and performance potential of each employee. The method they
employ to assess the people should clearly and undoubtedly convey to the employees
that unless they are committed and responsible to their job, survival in the corporate
would be in peril.
The approach of suspicion, cross checking, spying & espionage etc., should not be the
culture of the corporate in knowing or dealing with the employees. Many corporate
bosses do engage seriously in practicing ‘spying and espionage’ approach. They use
different employees to spy at each other.
The corporate should have confidence to give freedom to its employees and must have
confidence in knowing how the freedom is being used by them. The rattle snake once
bits the prey wait patiently till the prey to die. It knows that the prey would die and also
it knows, it can locate the prey.
Patience, confidence, self belief, strategy, trick, swiftness etc., can be learned from the
hunting approach of the rattle snakes. It is not the aggression or exhibition or
exploitation of the ‘physical’ strength, the ‘smart strategy’ is what the rattle snakes use
to hut its prey.
The smart strategy should anchor at ‘self belief’ and ‘complete understanding’ only then
the effort born out of such smart strategy would yield the desired result.
Dr S Ranganathan, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai

2. Learn more from the following management books
1. Jungle wisdom for corporate management – lessons from the university of
nature by Swami Sukhabodhananda and Dr S Ranganathan
2. Nature – The Entrepreneur by Dr S Ranganathan