For use: Sunday, August 18, 2000 and thereafter

 

A Business Bestiary: "The Honey Guide"

by Michael Finley

Copyright (c) 2000 by Michael Finley

Careers guru Dick Leider ("The Power of Purpose," Berrett-Koehler Publishers) tells the story of a little bird he encountered on his travels in Africa.

In a valley south of the Serengeti Plain lives a tribe of hunter gatherers called the Hazda. They are tiny-sized hunters who use a big bow with poison arrows. Leider went with a band of these hunters on a honey hunt. Out in the bush, they spied a plain but very vocal bird, dancing and yelping. The bird flew ahead to another tree, the hunters pursued, and then the bird would fly ahead again, until it arrived at a place where there was honey.

The warrior would set a handful of twigs afire and plunge it into the hive. The bees would flee, and the hunter would withdraw the honey, comb, and larvae. But the first offering went to the honey guide, the bird, who led them to their find.

"I believe," said Leider, "that there are all kinds of signals guiding us to our callings, like the honey guide."

Is there a honey bird calling to you? It may not be as obvious as the jumping up and down and yelping of a bird, Leider says. Our callings are usually more indirect. They do not always come up to us and slap us in the face. "What we want" can be a secret we keep from ourselves. "We have to look for them," he says, "in our peripheral vision."

Here's how you can identify your honey guide's promptings:

·        "Do what you love, and the money will follow." This is one of the most controversial sayings in the career field. It does not mean, "Build it and they will come" -- the market will reward you even if you ignore it. False! It does mean you'll never be happy with your work unless -- get this -- you like what you do. Remember that you are seeking honey, not vinegar -- a true calling should be sweet.

·        What do you know? The 80/20 law applies to careers as well -- the preponderance of work you will do in your life will turn on a handful of topics that engaged you early on.

·        Your calling is internal, not external. Don’t expect the HELP WANTED section of the paper to change your life. It will bubble up inside you. When you are

·        Let serendipity work on you. Stand in traffic. Meet people. Put yourself in play. You will meet so many people, that some will change your life for the better. Anything can be a honey bird, but you may have to leave your house to hear it.

Leider sums up his philosophy with three immutable points:

1. Everyone has gifts.

He cited a Hong Kong table tennis player he encountered in his travels, acclaimed as the world's best player. He had the most amazing forehand smash Leider had ever seen, but a less amazing backhand. His teacher bemoaned the fact that he never improved the backhand, but no matter -- he was a champion with what he had. Focus on your strengths, Leider said, and manage your weaknesses.

2. Everyone has something important to say.

Everyone has a voice, and we should not doubt the power of it. He told of a friend who at age 50 pledged to live his life to the fullest, and to honor his inner voice. Then he got throat cancer and lost his voice. He told Leider he believed he lost his voice from stifling his own aspirations all his life. He lived only a few more months, and his physical voice never returned. But in that time he acquired a booming inner voice, from renewed attention to those he loved, and the world around him.

3. Everyone has values.

Just as an acorn needs a healthful environment to sprout and grow, so we need people, and values, and direction. Leider says we our lives are properly like speeches by Oscar winners, in which everyone who helped is given credit. Your don’t know your own values? Then cock an ear, and listen for the honey bird.

 

 

Order Richard Leider's The Power of Purpose

Copyright (c) 2000 by Michael Finley