November 1, 2017
George Uvari
Elephant, lion, mouse and koala
It’s a jungle
The old adage It’s a jungle out there is a perfect analogy for business.
If you were a lion and had to chase mice to survive, how tired would you get and how much work would it be? How long do you think you could keep it up? The fact is, you would have to fight with your own, as well as other species, for survival; it would be quite a challenge by the time you were became old and tired. Lions live just eight years on average. Wouldn’t it be easier to be part of a large pride?
Not unlike your provincial trade association!
If you were an elephant you couldn’t possibly chase mice, but you might step on one accidentally. You could graze where you wished, trample where you wanted and even if you were old and tired, you could go on for quite a while. You would rarely fight with the other giants of the savannah, let alone your peers. Elephants can live up to 100 years. Their lives are made even easier by living harmoniously in large herds.
Not unlike your provincial trade association!
If you were a mouse, you would scramble from here to there, constantly looking for scraps and worried about the lions, elephants, snakes and other carnivores. Mice live maybe two years.
The koala, on the other hand, eats eucalyptus leaves that are highly toxic to other animals. They are high up in the trees, have few if any predators and sleep 22 hours per day. Koalas live up to 20 years.
Lions need larger prey: I see many businesses trying to be everything to everybody, going after large and small projects in our industry. Lesson: target your prey and avoid wasting energy.
At my company, we do only small projects for existing clients. We don’t have the time or the energy to go on hunting adventures for small jobs, especially as we get closer to retirement. The mouse literally has to run under the lion’s paw to get any attention.
To be a lion you must be fit and constantly alert to play this business game where bidding is involved. You are not sure where your next project is coming from, or the likelihood of getting it and if you will ever make it to your next meal. Other lions are hungry too, and may beat you to the punch or underbid you due to their hunger. We like to be preferred bidders, so we at least know who the players are. No point getting into a scrap with another mangy lion that is desperate. If we win we are beat up and diminished for the next battle. We always ask who the other bidders are.
The koala, on the other hand, eats eucalyptus leaves that are highly toxic to other animals. They are high up in the trees, have few if any predators and sleep 22 hours per day. Koalas live up to 20 years.
Lions need larger prey: I see many businesses trying to be everything to everybody, going after large and small projects in our industry. Lesson: target your prey and avoid wasting energy.
At my company, we do only small projects for existing clients. We don’t have the time or the energy to go on hunting adventures for small jobs, especially as we get closer to retirement. The mouse literally has to run under the lion’s paw to get any attention.
To be a lion you must be fit and constantly alert to play this business game where bidding is involved. You are not sure where your next project is coming from, or the likelihood of getting it and if you will ever make it to your next meal. Other lions are hungry too, and may beat you to the punch or underbid you due to their hunger. We like to be preferred bidders, so we at least know who the players are. No point getting into a scrap with another mangy lion that is desperate. If we win we are beat up and diminished for the next battle. We always ask who the other bidders are.
Mice have few friends, they do not look for help and they stay small. Everyone and everything is a threat to them. I would not want to be a mouse in business!
Larger businesses, like elephants, take a fairly long time to mature, but they are guided by their peers and elders, gradually learning to co-operate with others to more easily get what they want. From a reputation standpoint, they are admired and respected rather than feared. Large elephants go to business school and have mentors. Your provincial trade association is full of all kinds of help from elephants.
Koalas specialize and do what no one else wants to do, or can do. Examples of this in our industry are weed spraying, tree climbing and cutting, stone masonry, and horticulturalists that do not cut grass. Know of a company that specializes in getting permits and navigating the bureaucracy? It requires lots of knowledge, connections and patience. Very few designers would go down that path!
The point in all of this is to recognize who you are and what you want to become. There is a definite food chain and it’s easier at the top. To get there, one must make the least mistakes, just like an animal trying to survive in the jungle. In the landscape business, it really is a jungle out there!
George Urvari is president of Toronto, Ont.-based Oriole Landscaping.