Birds of a Feather...

As is custom, late last fall we visited my mother-in-law who resides in Missouri. Standing on her back deck, my daughter and I witnessed a true spectacle of nature. It was an awesome gathering of migrating birds. With spring--and the return of numerous birds--drawing near, it's time to reflect on that natural phenomenon.



Easily thousands and thousands of birds congregated in swarms covering nearby tree tops. Momentarily perched, they took flight with an audible "swoosh" made by the collective air movement from their wings. It was an amazing choreography in the sky...and mere collective sound jolted my mind to consider the pure power of those birds acting in unison. I'm guessing the main cause of their teamwork is an efficient migration; but would survival also have any merit?


In nature, zebras have stripes and run in herds to camoflauge themselves as individual targets of prey. Lions, tigers (oh my) would more likely take an individual zebra as a lunch target than a whole herd. I'm guessing the same is true for these birds with eagles etc.

Now shift to business: are you safely confining your activity to "best practice"--(that which everyone else does) and being an indistinguishable fleck in the swarm of communication that swooshes past your clients brain (emails/spam, twitters, facebook...) on a daily basis? Yes, even in business, there is safety in numbers...but don't expect to roost anywhere other than where that flock lands. What sort of "pecking order" do you want?

By contrast, leadership REQUIRES courage and being distinctive. Take a quick glimpse at the photo to the right....see anything? Of course, your eye zones right in on that individualistic image sitting literally "out on a limb"...while the rest of the bunch play it safe. Now, let's not subscribe to being stupid, but if you want your business to get noticed, to be recognized as different than all the flock following competitors then you need to inch out on a limb and have faith in your feathers...get the best sun and view available.

Naturally, an analogy toward promotions is forthcoming--what's your "best practice"? Some pens, padfolios and a coffee cup? How exciting! Corporations need to reflect "a personality" in their branding to cultivate relationships. Is "boring" the perception you really seek? Would you rather be stuck interacting, conducting business with a lemming that dolts predictably along or somebody that's willing to be "just a bit" different? I bet your current and potential clients feel exactly the same. Be Smart, Be Brave!

Note: these photos taken by my daughter Hanna, an art major at UW Madison. Go Badgers!