Friday Musings on ILLUMINATION — The Fish that Sticks with the Shark.
Sounds weird isn’t it? It IS true.
There are fish that stick with the Shark.
And you might ask, “Are they out of their minds?”
No, they aren’t. In fact, this category of fish depends on the shark for their living. Remoras, as they are known, sticks to the shark the way kids stick to their parents for survival. Also affectionately known “Shark Scrubbers”, they trail the Big One wherever it goes and gets their food from leftovers.
Maybe this is closer to the scavenger model rather than the young-and-needy model of survival.
Regardless, I have to say there are huge advantages for this.
Before that, a self-declaration is required.
I am not a Fish or Shark expert by a long shot.
This article is an articulation of my thought processes — A tapestry of assumptions based on the Darwinian approach of survival success of the Natural World (Homo Sapians included!).
Pretty much in the same vein where mentees learn from their mentors, survival of the Small depends on the capability of the Worldly-wise Big. It doesn’t happen all the time and it doesn’t have to be the case all the time. Let’s just say this is the norm based on my observations.
Student — Teacher, Mentee-Mentor, Children-Parent and etc.
What all these models have in common is having the experienced one leading the way, showing the ropes. We are young and inexperienced by default and not many of us are bestowed with knowledge of all types. We have to acquire them in the classrooms, through books and hitting out the streets.
The Big One shows the way.
Because they know the way.
I would go as far as to say this is the way to find our North Star.
There has been a lot of talk within social media and lunch-time conversations revolving around the “Whys” of what we do and how cool it is to have finally found our North Star. For this, I thank Simon Sinek for his brilliantly concise articulation. It is to his credit that everyone around caught the “Why” bug and suddenly everyone is so clear about their directions in Life.
Well, at least it appears so.
However, I truly believe there is a difference between Philosophy and Practicality, the way Strategy and Operations are fundamentally different within the same business unit.
Understanding and talking about it is one thing.
Applying what we learn into execution is another.
And that is why I believe that finding a mentor — just like Remoras following the Big One — brings immense execution science and feasibility.
Unlike teachers who pass on received knowledge (I wholehearted support and love the teaching population!) in a creative and granular fashion, mentors illuminate the Life Path of our choice. Imagine walking in the dark. Further imagine that we have no touch-light, Global Positioning System to track our current position and no smartphones we have to communicate and connect with others for assistance.
We are blind.
In that sense, we will inevitably stumble as we walk because we trip over the rock we didn’t see.
We might even get stuck into a swamp before we know it.
Mentors are luminaries.
It is as if they would come to our paths, shine that pig-head light ahead of us and we can now see the threats of the jungle we are in.
Swamps, Hyenas, Snakes and what not.
That beam of light is experience.
Mentors have been there done that. They know how difficult it is to start a business and thrive. They know just how difficult it is to ink that first 6-digit deal. They know it isn’t easy to deal with different types of clients, each approaching with different wants and intent.
They are able to show us the way because they have walked the treacherous path and survived.
The same way that Remoras stick with the Shark, the Big One knows the game of the hunt and how to survive in the harsh deep water conditions. Hanging on provides security (Well, I guess not many living beings in the water actually threatens the Shark, right?) and sustenance (Remoras eat without having to hunt).
In a way that many of us are still finding our way in life, seeking that elusive Life Path that we are destined to walk — Find a mentor.
Just like the Shark advantage, mentors can show us our possible future.
If we manage to stick around long enough to benefit from them.
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About the Author:
As a Consultant by training, I believe in making the complex simple.
Because simplicity adds value.
Simplicity helps us gain clarity, and clarity helps us to grow.
And if we are not growing, then what’s the point of anything else?
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