Are You a Dodo Bird or a Coyote?!
In his 2015 LinkedIn Pulse article, Are You a Dodo or a Coyote? Your Answer Changes Everything, Randy Pennington states that your long-term success will quite possibly come down to how you answer this important question.
Spoiler alert: the future belongs to the coyotes. The coyote is an ideal model for flourishing in the face of unprecedented change. They have flourished in the face of human contact because they are alert, opportunistic, and adaptable.
The dodo bird, on the other hand, is the iconic symbol for failure to adapt to a changing environment. They were perfectly suited to thrive in a world with no natural predators and no need to adapt. Of course, things changed and the rest is history.
In his article Pennington offers the following list of questions to help you assess your potential risk of becoming extinct like the dodo bird. Consider both your company or organization as well as yourself and answer them honestly.
Do you or people on your team believe that you are a stable, secure environment with no need to worry about predators or outside danger?
Have comfort and complacency caused you to lose the ability to expand out of your comfort zone?
Do you struggle with quickly adapting to changing opportunities or threats?
Have you lost the ability to see change coming or anticipate a different possible future?
The question of coyote or dodo bird is critically important right now for the veterinary profession which has flourished for years in a relatively stable environment but is now faced with questions of how to deal with exponential change.
In a recently recorded NAVC SparkCAST segment, Team Leadership Principles in the Veterinary Practice, fellow Enlightened Rebels Elise Lacher (Owner, Strategic Veterinary Consulting) and Robert Trimble, DVM (CVO, Fuzzy & Founder, Wave Pet Health) and I offer some thoughts on what it means to be a coyote as it relates to effectively managing and leading veterinary teams.
Give a listen to the 20-minute podcast, feel free to reach out to us with comments and questions, and consider joining the Enlightened Rebel Alliance!
