Squirrels can quickly climb trees but more slowly descend, exerting extra force to resist gravity while climbing down, demonstrating that ascending positions is difficult but maintaining professionalism and respect in high roles comes easier. Corporate leaders should learn from this subtle management lesson squirrels convey - that rising to the top takes significant effort, so those in high positions must respect others and not degrade their conduct as it was harder to rise than fall.

1. Squirrels, in general are arboreal animals that prefers to live on the top canopy of the
trees. They do come down to ground in search of food and water but some species are
strictly arboreal like giant squirrels and while some are terrestrials that live in burrows.
Giant squirrels rarely come down to ground.
No one in the corporate will dare to say that they have not seen, heard or known about
the squirrels. So are the people in the HR functions and the management trainers. The
extent, the corporate people know about the squirrels, the important management
message they conveys is not known to them.
The interesting aspect is that the squirrels can climb up the trees very fast. The speed at
which they can climb a tree from ground is indeed amazing. The more thrilling fact is
that, the squirrels cannot climb down from trees as fast as they can climb up. They have
the force only to take them up and not to the bottom.
While climbing down a tree, they exert an extra force to resist the gravity of earth in
order to prevent them from falling. This affects the speed of their movement. This
quality and ability is built in the very behaviour and physics of the locomotion of
squirrels in general.
The corporate masters and leaders must learn the unique management insight and its
subtlety. After several decades of hard work and passion, many corporate leaders
would have reached the top position in many corporate. Journey to the top level would
not have come so easily.
But at the behaviour level, these leaders can stoop down the values, etiquettes, position
and decorum of the corporate so easily. For them, be at the top is difficult and hence
would easily come down than going up to their position. In brief, a positional dignity
and discipline they never exhibit while interacting with people.
Why they seldom recognize the fact that climbing up the ladder in the corporate
hierarchy is difficult and hence should respect their effort and the position that they
have attained.
The simple reason is that they always operate from the ground level. The cultural and
behavioural growth and development of such people can support their existence only at
the bottom level.
The corporate should evaluate the employees carefully before promoting them to next
level. Mere qualification, years of experience, performance, knowledge or
communication skills alone should not be considered but the cultural and behavioural
aspects of these people also must be scrutinized to see whether that match for the next
position.

2. Promotion and position given to people in single man owned corporate are largely from
subjective and perception centric approach. What the single man likes become the
decision and policy of the corporate. In such corporate, many people do occupy higher
position with ‘mosquito’ and ‘shrew’ behaviour.
A gentle observation of the garden squirrel can give the HR function and the HR trainers
how to assess people for their worthiness for higher position in corporate. Learn from
squirrels, if not you thank them.
Dr S Ranganathan, ClinRise Derma Pvt., Ltd., Chennai
Learn more from the following management books
1. Jungle wisdom for corporate management – lessons from university of nature
by Swami Sukhabodhananda and Dr S Ranganathan
2. Nature – the entrepreneur by Dr S Ranganathan