Animal Spirits or "The Nature of a Businessperson"

When Adam Smith touched upon the term Animal Spirits and John Maynard Keynes picked it up, in the his scholarly discourse in the 'General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money", the short passages do not reveal their meaning easily. 

I have been trying to understand the nature of irrational human behaviour that defines animal spirits and it is important to understand these, because fear, exuberance, confidence, flitting nature and detachment all spring from these animal spirits.

The recent past has been peppered with the much abused term, the mythical animal, the Unicorn, which defines companies over a billion USD in valuation being its only spirit.

However, to understand animal spirits, I thought it important to define the animals first, and associate a spirit with it, so as to come closer to understanding the nature of the animal spirit.

These are based on my understanding of ancient Indian wisdom, and what I have derived from that in the course of my study. 

The 8 categories that I have been able to ascribe spirits to are as follows:

1. The Elephant: Big thinking, long term, stable,immense memory, relies on present and past knowledge and aligns the change in the environment in the spirit of surviving and thriving. Feared and respected, the elephant is the font on which wealth rides, so lets call the Elephant "The Ride of Money" 

2. The Horse: Speed, grace and energy signify the creature. The creature can provide quick results, at the same time conserving energy, looks good while doing it and and can cover long distances in the process is the nature of the spirit of the Horse. "Signifies Comfort and Possessions"

3. The Donkey: A supreme slogger, the donkey is not a creature in control of his destiny. Frequently a beast of burden, this creature is seen ferrying around huge loads from place to place. Given to fits of temper, best not to stand behind the hind legs of a donkey. "Hard work, no reward" 

 4. The Tiger: Referred to as the king of the Jungle (though it doesn't know that it is), the tiger is a solo hunter. The ability to bring down any kind of prey from an antelope to an elephant, the tiger is the example of personal excellence in execution. May not thrive in a collective environment, and will always be interested in self preservation.

5. The Bear: From the stock market example of the Bull and the Bear, the Bear is an example of irrational depression. The ability to look for the worst outcome in any situation and bring down the general disposition to doom and gloom signifies the Bear.

6. The Deer: A fleeting beautiful thing, almost like a mirage, impossible to catch. One can chase it, and follow it, it can tire the hunter and latter will frequently return empty handed after the hunt.

7. The Dog: The tendency to be protective of ones' current belongings/possessions. The dog signifies the nature of extreme caution, no matter what level of risk there exists, it is never too less for the dog. The stranger, the resident, the trespasser, and the visitor are always looked upon with suspicion.

8. The Pig: Greedy and indiscriminate, the pig doesn't possess any redeeming values nor any outstanding qualities. Anything that is an eating opportunity in front of the snout is the flavour of the hour. Opportunistic to the core, and lacks and moral or qualitative virtues.

Important to understand here that animal spirits evolve. A Dog can become a Tiger and a Tiger can become an Elephant in the course of one's journey as a trader, an investor or a business. 

Similarly a Pig can go on to become a Deer or a Horse. 

Risk taking can thus be classified as animal behavioural patterns.

Frequently, my observation has been that the business takes the persona of the businessman who calls the shots. These behavioural nuances then get ingrained in the psyche of the organization culturally.

 I will be adding to these as I able to fine tune my understanding of animal spirits. 

Already, in this list you will be able to see companies/businesspeople who can be slotted into these categories. Try and see if you can identify 3 people and 4 companies, but please don't feel compelled to share your findings!