Monkey on my back!

Long ago, in the corporate world "Monkey on my back" was a very popular way of saying that there was a problem before me which was difficult to get rid of. For me, monkeys are the epitome of what I should not do. I find that, in real life, our mind is the monkey. It??is restless and difficult to predict. Many times it causes trouble and leads us into serious issues. Like monkeys, we can keep somersaulting, never focused, always searching, always jealous, imagining fears that didn’t exist and ignoring those that did.

For me, in Business, the three monkeys depicted by Gandhiji have a negative teaching as well – what not to do. And these three monkeys give birth to a fourth one. All together, symbolically, they are the ruin of businesses, of leaders and of employees.?

These four monkeys sometimes run our businesses. And we allow them to, or invite them to. We may not recognize them, so below is a reflection.?

Monkey no 1: “I do not want to see”

Businesses are organizations of people. And people by nature are averse to accepting bad news, bad feedback or criticism. It really all depends on the business leader – does he encourage openness and transparency of thought or is he autocratic and does not expect people to speak their minds. In businesses that don’t want to see, you often find a culture of fear and finger pointing.

Not wanting to see the reality will not change it. Since our natural tendency maybe to avoid facing bad situations, if we do not purposely see and address it, we will soon be engulfed and sucked into the problem, as a victim , instead of a challenger.

Monkey No 2 : “I do not wish to listen”

Many businesses are unable to listen. Simply, because they never did and don’t see the use of it. They don’t seem to care about their employees or their customers or their business partners. They are always in the aggression mode, defending what they have left.

Listening to others requires a will and an effort. It is a positive aspect of business building; based on feedback, suggestions, news and most of all impending and changing desires and needs of the market. When we do not listen, we will soon be out of the reckoning. Because someone else is listening for sure.

Monkey No 3 : “I do not wish to speak”

In partnership with monkey no 2, this third monkey is distinguished by his lack of confidence and motivation and absolute fear of criticism. It is also true of managers and employees (and some leaders ?) Since it was not in their JD, they are not supposed to do it. Nor are they encouraged to acquire the space and freedom to be creative, think, listen and speak their mind because they are??defined by those that do not see or listen.

If we do not speak, our creativity, our intelligence quotient and our competence to achieve goals is greatly diminished.

And finally, if we allow these three monkeys to ride on our back , we finally have a fourth and deadliest one :

Monkey No 4: “I cannot act”

Having spent a lot of time in sanctuaries and??jungles, one observation was most profound. If a lion or a tiger stands beneath tree full of monkeys and roars, one or two will definitely drop off the branches. The fear of the cat freezes the otherwise active creatures into complete inaction. And that inaction causes them to lose their life.

Are we letting these three monkeys become so heavy on our backs that out of fear of consequences we freeze into inaction ? This is a very common and main problem in life and in business.

If we do not act in the right manner, at the right time, with the right people, we are preparing our business to be dog food for sure!