THE BEES
COME TO ME…
I count myself lucky that I had a massive beehive
right outside my living room window, on the window concrete sun-shade slab. For
several months, the two of us- the harmful and dangerous human being, and those
harmless gentle honey bees – co-existed without any trouble to each other. They
didn’t bother me, and I didn’t bother them. But this period have me insights
both into Honeybees as well as human behavioral aspects, insights that I shall
carry with me my entire life. The images of this honey-beehive are given below,
which can highlight its closeness to my habitat.
I first noticed them when a few came inside from the
open window; I was at a loss as to what to do, till I figured out they were
attracted by the light. Only then did I spot the Beehive, and nearly panicked
& spoke to the society incharge for immediate redressal of this “grave”
threat to my habitat and existence. The bees – they didn’t care too much for
me, ignoring me as irrelevant, unimportant and useless, an observation I now
agree with!
THE
BEEHIVE
Note that-
both of us were close – very close, physically, to each other. And yet,
I – the larger animal was scared, while they, the infamous stinging bees, were
unconcerned. My existence was as much a danger to them; perhaps a greater
danger – and yet they co-existed peacefully. We weren’t causing each other too
much inconvenience; and yet the Human Being felt threatened. They didn’t sting
me, or anyone in my certain knowledge – and yet, we felt threatened by them.
Threatened enough by their mere closeness to us to have them removed forcibly.
So who is the greater danger to whom? Humans to the bees or the bees to the
Humans?
This interchange is emblematic of our overall
interaction with the environment and the way we permanently reshape and alter
it. While I don’t deny the presence of some risk, the chances of a stone
hitting the Hive causing the bees to get irritated did exist, to be frank; the
fact remains that the Bees, by themselves, had done nothing to harm or
inconvenience us in any way. It only meant that we could keep the Jali windows
open, that is all. Even if the bees came inside- they didn’t harm us humans at
all. They committed suicide by getting pulled to the light. And yet, instead of
finding ways of co-existence with the environment we seek to alter it, just so
we can be slightly more convenient and comfortable.
Now move in a little closer – note the execution
perfection of the hive, the complete and wonderful perfection displayed by the
hexagonal cells and the way it all comes together. This has been achieved by
over several hundred individuals working in tandem towards a common goal; I
regretfully accept that as of now, I don’t see how we humans can achieve this
incredible level of teamwork shown in these images above. And when the hive was broken – the perfection with which they removed
the remains in a few short hours was simply breathtaking!
TEACHINGS
BY THE BEES AND THE BEEHIVE
But above and beyond this – the Beehive taught me
some other, pertinent and valuable lessons in management, human behaviour that
left me speechless. Having observed them from so close for so long - a distance of barely 2 feet from the 2 feet
by 2.5 feet by 8 inches beehive gave me lessons that shall stay with me my
whole life. Look at the images above now- and observe. Observe the stunning,
nay – mesmerizing teamwork in the way these insects, which aren’t sentient
beings, settle together on the hive; observe their focus and their commitment
to the common good of the hive. And when disturbed – the speed with which they
relocated and renewed taught me a lesson in execution in uncertain times.
This is something that is never found in us Humans –
despite being sentient, highly
intelligent, thinking, literate and in some rare cases – educated people.
Despite this, Humans have rarely, if ever, displayed such commonality, speed
and dedication as displayed by these bees. And whenever we have done so –
either wonders or disaster has followed. The
reason for that is our desires, ambitions play a major role in taking us away
from the common purpose, and drive us towards individual achievements, thereby
unmaking the good of teamwork. And this happens in almost every Human
Endeavour.
Thus, while on the one hand, our higher intellect
has made us capable of achieving wonders, our attendant desires have made us
incapable of actually achieving those same wonders! Curiously, it is dreams / desires that aid in unlocking potential – unless
you desire something, dream – you cannot figure out that such a thing exists
-which is why bees will remain bees. But these same desires, when unhindered – binaa lagaam ke ghodaa, a horse a without a rein – lead us
astray, both on an individual level as well as collectively.
ANIMALS
& INSECTS VS US
It is rather surprising and more than a little
shameful if you think of it – animals and insects, operating without a high
intellect, can pull off wonders with teamwork; and we Humans, with our high
intellect, cannot do anything on a similar scale. When you consider that every
Beehive, and many other animals / insects, do it universally, the Human folly
of individualism – given to us by western civilization in some ways as well as driven by our own nature & selfish desires
– becomes all the more shameful. The thought of what we can achieve if we were
to learn to work together for a common good is tantalizing, and highly attractive
- but extremely hard to pull off in reality, considering the ground realities. At this point, take a close look again – you
will find a few types of bees – all doing their own roles expertly.
THE POSITIVE
POWER AND THE NEGATIVE PROBLEM OF OUR DESIRES
Human desires are our main strength – they drive
innovation, and are indispensable. And Human activities are also hugely diverse;
thus, the learning we can take from this above example is simple this: we have
to find ways to marry the two – individual desires & individual abilities
and weld the two into one powerful whole. Therein lies the gist of what
leadership is truly about: it isn’t about getting those numbers, that bottom or
topline, or whatever. It is about selecting, training and placing the right
person for the right job to enable organizational performance and excellence.
Each individual has strengths and desires – we just need to, as individuals and
as leaders both, find the right sweet spot. In
other words, we need to stop chasing the crowd, find what we are good at,
choose from these what gels with our desires, control the both of them – and execute.
The above rarely, or rather, almost never happens. We
go by rote, we follow the herd, be it education or be it jobs; we rarely
analyse and understand either ourselves or our teams, or indeed the organization
and the situation, and blindly ape the rest of the world : forgetting that it
is the constant execution of the small tiny things that ensures excellence. Forgetting
that control over desires, understanding innate talent and strengthening it is
the way to succeed, not following the herd. Watching that Beehive gave me these
powerful insights, insights that had laid dormant in me – as evidenced by my
previous thoughts on this matter.
APPLICATION
TO ORGANISED HUMAN ACTIVITY
This applies for organisations as well as
individuals; I fact- all organized / individual activity – if you don’t have
the right team to execute in a changed external atmosphere, or if your analysis
is not as per ground realities – you are almost certain to fail over the long
term. The difference between humans and
bees can manifest here : a human beehive would probably not be built on the
lintel of another species residence, as the inherent danger should be obvious
to us. And yet, we always disregard, and build our beehives {individual
lives / organisations etc} the same way,
unmindful of the long term risks posed by our approach and our strategy! As
proof, we simple have to list the list of brand and company failures in the
past…
SAYING
BYE TO THE BEES AND THE BEEHIVE
But the worst part of this entire episode was that I
had to, with great reluctance, let go of the Beehive as my colony and my
society wouldn’t have it any other way. What is worse, neither would I; the
long term risk of an irritated nest so close to home was too great. Yet, it is
noteworthy that, left to their own devices, the Bees would not have troubled me
at all. In fact, I had gotten used to them living a few feet away. The complete
inability of our species to adjust for the environment, and how far we have
gone away from it – is the saddest aspect of all.
I for one am very delighted that Parmatma chose
me to see this wonder barely 2 feet away from
myself on a daily basis, with its rapturous perfection, teamwork,
execution excellence and genius – and the
superb beauty of the natural order of things… they have taught me the true
meaning of leadership, the true purpose of a leader; they have taught me
management; but more than that, above all – the Bees and the Beehive has taught
me the power of the environment, and how it is we Humans that are a problem
with our ever-increasing desires and selfishness, and lack of adjustment capability…
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