Over the last few months or so I have had the chance to observe some ants from a much closer distance than I would have normally liked to. After bringing in honey into our daily diet it was normal to leave it on the dining table since that was the most convenient place. Sure enough it turned convenient enough even for the great explorers – the ants who came sniffing by.

Early attempts at keeping the bottle cover sealed hardly helped since the aroma seemed to get them all over! Since the bottle was going to be out for a while we took the next logical step of placing it in a bowl with water all around it quite like a moat! And one had that look of satisfaction like Tom in the cartoon series – there I gotcha! Only for that sense of satisfaction to be wiped away when one found the ants back there on the bottle and even inside it within a day!!!

Looks like even the moat with the water surrounding the bottle was not going to stop them (never knew they could swim!) so the bottle was promptly cleaned on the outside, water changed and put back again. Sure enough they were back again and again and again! That’s when my feelings moved from irritation to a reluctant sense of amazement to a final sense of déjà vu – these guys just would not give up.

When I looked back at my 3 decades of work experiences with different kinds of teams and situations and challenges there were a few key lessons where there was so much similarity between what the ants displayed and what most management and leadership teams experience and so often stumble because of the vagaries and insecurities of human nature.

What Qualities stood out to me from these tiny, little workhorse ants were

• Smelling an opportunity from a distance. Not one but anything that even looks worthwhile.
• Doing an initial recee or assessment to sense the scale of the opportunity.
• Working together as a team to figure out the challenges and the way around them(maybe even with a team huddle strategy session)
• Doing the first pilot on how to get through the water/turbulence and get to the sweet spot.
• Being prepared to make some sacrifices for the cause – a few dead ants maybe as a price to pay for greater rewards and returns for the larger group.
• No hesitation in exploring uncharted waters (literally) or moving from the bottle cap to my hand without knowing the consequences.
• Going by gut feeling that the reward was worth the risk.
• No shortcuts or pulling others down in the spirit of sharing the spoils equally in the spirit of unity.
• A unique sense of discipline in staying focused on the task ahead and knowing what each one has to contribute to the overall task.
• Being persistent and not knowing what giving up is all about. Put a hurdle in their path and even though they may be temporarily disoriented in no time they are back on the job – zero tolerance for excuses.
• Stretch towards your goals and lean on each other (refer the picture )

My transformation from an ant hater to an admirer has been an interesting journey on relating these points to how management teams can use some of these basic principles to achieve much greater successes in whatever opportunity they sense or path they choose.

If you like this article or have different thoughts on this topic do share your like and comments to help build a discussion around it. And do feel free to share this article with your contacts who might also like the read and benefit from it.

Over the last few months or so I have had the chance to observe some ants from a much closer distance than I would have normally liked to. After bringing in honey into our daily diet it was normal to leave it on the dining table since that was the most convenient place. Sure enough it turned convenient enough even for the great explorers – the ants who came sniffing by.

Early attempts at keeping the bottle cover sealed hardly helped since the aroma seemed to get them all over! Since the bottle was going to be out for a while we took the next logical step of placing it in a bowl with water all around it quite like a moat! And one had that look of satisfaction like Tom in the cartoon series – there I gotcha! Only for that sense of satisfaction to be wiped away when one found the ants back there on the bottle and even inside it within a day!!!

Looks like even the moat with the water surrounding the bottle was not going to stop them (never knew they could swim!) so the bottle was promptly cleaned on the outside, water changed and put back again. Sure enough they were back again and again and again! That’s when my feelings moved from irritation to a reluctant sense of amazement to a final sense of déjà vu – these guys just would not give up.

When I looked back at my 3 decades of work experiences with different kinds of teams and situations and challenges there were a few key lessons where there was so much similarity between what the ants displayed and what most management and leadership teams experience and so often stumble because of the vagaries and insecurities of human nature.

What Qualities stood out to me from these tiny, little workhorse ants were

• Smelling an opportunity from a distance. Not one but anything that even looks worthwhile.
• Doing an initial recee or assessment to sense the scale of the opportunity.
• Working together as a team to figure out the challenges and the way around them(maybe even with a team huddle strategy session)
• Doing the first pilot on how to get through the water/turbulence and get to the sweet spot.
• Being prepared to make some sacrifices for the cause – a few dead ants maybe as a price to pay for greater rewards and returns for the larger group.
• No hesitation in exploring uncharted waters (literally) or moving from the bottle cap to my hand without knowing the consequences.
• Going by gut feeling that the reward was worth the risk.
• No shortcuts or pulling others down in the spirit of sharing the spoils equally in the spirit of unity.
• A unique sense of discipline in staying focused on the task ahead and knowing what each one has to contribute to the overall task.
• Being persistent and not knowing what giving up is all about. Put a hurdle in their path and even though they may be temporarily disoriented in no time they are back on the job – zero tolerance for excuses.
• Stretch towards your goals and lean on each other (refer the picture )

My transformation from an ant hater to an admirer has been an interesting journey on relating these points to how management teams can use some of these basic principles to achieve much greater successes in whatever opportunity they sense or path they choose.

If you like this article or have different thoughts on this topic do share your like and comments to help build a discussion around it. And do feel free to share this article with your contacts who might also like the read and benefit from it.