This weeks Wednesday Wisdom is all about the power of inter-dependence and how what one persons discards can be another persons treasure.
Out in the African bush I have seen all the Big Five – Cape Buffalo, Lion, Elephant, Rhino and Leopard – which has been amazing. What I love about the African bush – and in fact all nature – is that fact that every works in harmony. Nature is a true ecosystem where everything is inter-dependent on everything else. Consequently there is no wasted time, energy or money as everything is connected. This is the key theme of my new book The Alchemy of Change: The Key To The Future Lies In The Past
One of the interesting facts we learnt was that an elephant eats up to 300 kg per day, which means each elephant generates about 100kg of manure each and every day!!! That’s a lot of shit. And yet the elephant’s waste products are a source of sustenance for the Dung Beetle. Dung beetles collect up the elephant dung into a ball and then roll it to a destination where they bury it. They then climb into the ball of dung with their mate, reproduce and then the dung beetle lavae are born inside.
Just imagine what would happen if the dung beetles went on strike. The bush would become covered in elephant dung and the dung beetles would eventually die out but also all the grasslands that the dung is deposited on would wither away. This is such a classic example of how all the species within the bush are inter-dependent on each other for their survival.
And it’s the same in business too. Business is an ecosystem where everyone’s actions impact each other. And also one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
What items are you discarding that could add real value to someone else? I’d be curious to hear.
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower. Business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives hire her to accelerate their business performance by harnessing the energy of their people to work more collaboratively together. By aligning purpose with actions the team achieves exponential results as everyone starts pulling in the same direction.
Julia believes that business is a force for good and through designing purpose-driven businesses that leverage the laws of nature, and the herd, you can create businesses founded on the principles of connection, collaboration and community that make a significant impact in the world.
