You must continue to improve your skills as a project manager or business owner. Effective team relationships are possible by being self-aware and able to communicate with others. This is also important for your career and business development.
Imagine if your skills could be improved and you could create lasting change for yourself and your team. What would that look like?
This is possible by simply using nature’s processes as a guide. I believe it is possible to learn from the natural world and apply them in our lives.
Let me share six navigational tools that are inspired by nature to help you navigate.
NAVIGATIONAL TOOL 1: “The Prey Predator Model.”
Nature, by its very nature, must adapt to new circumstances in order to thrive. It is designed to maximize productivity and minimize energy loss.
Nature seeks to maximize its return on investment (ROI), which is the ratio of its energy use and its productivity. This natural process is something leaders can learn from.
The N-stinctive PREY PREY MODELTM is a highly adaptable concept that can be tailored for any audience. Please take 5 minutes to look at the model and ask two questions.
While you are trying to consider both your personal and project management, if you had to choose one word from each “branch” of the model that best describes your current state, where would you be?
Next, consider where you want to be in the near future.
You can create a personal roadmap to a more successful future by simply taking a moment to reflect. These ‘navigational instruments’ are meant to help you get there using nature as your guide.
NAVIGATIONAL TOOL 2: “Stability”
Nature will anchor you in the eye and fury of this storm. COVID-19 lockdown is over. Keep your feet on the ground. Trust. Accept that we don’t know all the answers. However, as a species, we can endure and overcome.
Penguins in Antarctica are forced to survive by being locked down every year. Their natural cycle is to maximize energy intake in the easy times. They can also foresee the difficult months ahead by creating a project plan for survival.
We must not forget that penguins can survive harsh winters by living in a group of friends and huddling together. To ensure that no one is left to carry the entire burden, the animals on the outside are quickly rotated back into their pack.
Through these difficult times, we all can learn a lesson: The challenges don’t last forever. We can all bear the brunt together for the benefit of everyone.
NAVIGATIONAL TOOL 3: “Connection”
Nature has an amazing ability to restore the human spirit. We are fools if we ignore this and believe that manmade solutions can improve our connection with the wildlife.
We are not IN nature, but we are nature.
Nature connects us with the present moment. Nature makes it possible to enjoy the present moment, rather than constantly striving for tomorrow’s goals. We can feel connected to something greater than ourselves by being surrounded by nature every day.
There are many ways to reconnect with nature, even if your home or office is located in a high-rise.
You can bring plants into your home or office, and observe the birds’ song. On your way home, take a detour through the local parks. Watch documentaries about nature; add a stunning landscape view to your screen-saver; support (perhaps by hosting a fundraising event in your office) a nature charity. Visit your local nature reserve.
NAVIGATIONAL TOOL 4: “Courage”
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