Dr S Ranganathan, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai

1. A lion when roar, can be heard from 5 miles or 8 km distance away from the animal.
Why the ‘roar’ of the lion is so loud, audible and piercing? When the vocalization of
this majestic animal is so loud to a distance of 5 miles, won’t it alert the wide variety
of the prey animals like deer, zebra, buffaloes, giraffe etc. When the prey animals
are alerted well in advance, naturally the hunt success is expected to be poor for
even to a big pride of lions.
Lions roar because and for the purpose of establishing, re-iterating and proving
their territory and dominance. To prove the power and position become equally
important even to animals in the jungle. Only when the lion roar, it can warn the
invading lions to its territory and can protect the same and its clan.
Catching or hunting and eating the prey alone is not the sole purpose, the lions see
in their life. What would go to the advantage of the prey animals is not the concern
lions really bother about when they roar, but what advantage it essentially offers to
its pride is only seen.
Another important management message to be learned from a roaring lion is that, a
timely warning to the intruder is inevitable to avoid a costly fight or war or combat.
Who would win at the end, these powerful animals are not really interested in
knowing but how to avoid the same through prior warning and display of
aggression is the management approach lions follow through ‘roaring’.
The corporate leaders must learn the fact that warning the employees’ well in
advance only will make them accountable, responsible and orient them to complete
the task in time. Sending timely warning should not be seen as negative approach as
it might be interpreted to be affecting the autonomy, freedom and independence of
the employees. If the lion had ever felt its disadvantages in hunting the prey as its
roar may alert prey, its roaring that can be heard from 5 miles away, they cannot
warn the intruders to their territory. The end result would be an ‘imminent’ fight; a
fight proves no good either to the resident/territorial or the intruding lion. A
combat even if winnable will cause losses and hence should be avoided is the
management wisdom lions teach the corporate.
Serving a timely warning to the employees will make every employee perform the
best, accomplish the task, meeting the timelines and become successful. Sometime
the serving warning might affect the inter-personal relationship between the boss
and subordinates.
The corporate bosses must always remember that they have fundamental
responsibility to protect the ‘total’ and ‘complete’ interest of the corporate. The
likely losses they might suffer at the individual level should not prevail in the
display of their leadership.
A roaring lion does so only to protect its territory and clan. It only sees the
collective and total ‘advantage’ of such an act and not how it might favour the prey
animals and affect its hunting success.

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