Being a seahorse in business matters

So Auckland is back in lockdown. I’ve got my very elderly Mum staying and she lives in Auckland so she might be with us for a while longer. This will prove interesting.

So you may ask what this has to do with seahorses and business? First an admission. Seahorses are my favourite creature on earth. They are cute, whimsical and I cannot imagine what they have been designed to do. They seem more like a frivolous moment by the creator or a bit of a laugh by evolutionary process. Pick your favourite.

However, seahorses are not simply pretty and pointless. They are fish, believe it or not, they eat almost constantly because they don’t really have a stomach to digest food, they help keep the place tidy, their eyes move independently of each other and they have better eyesight than we do, they mate for life and the boys are the ones that get pregnant and can have between 50 and 1,500 babies at a time. They are shockingly bad swimmers with almost no proper means to propel themselves like fins that work. I imagine this is a disadvantage if you spend your life underwater.

We have a new strain of COVID kind of loose in our country. History would suggest that we will quickly get it under control, but in talking to the people I interact with every day, there is a sense that the way the government is behaving, we may be in for a lot more than we are being told yet. I have no idea what is true and I go about my day scanning the tracer app religiously wherever I go and washing my hands and being a good Kiwi.

Many people are imagining another lockdown. Interestingly, some are dreading it. Others are secretly yearning for it. Remember those balmy days in April when the sun was shining and life changed, possibly forever. Lockdown became a thing.

And so to the business of being a seahorse in business. As already stated, they are an oceangoing creature with almost no tools to make living there successfully. There are a couple of things I draw from these wee critters that we can apply.

The first thng is about resilience and adaptation. Seahorses have found ways to survive and thrive. For instance they have good strong tails that allow them to grab onto things as the current drags them helplessly around so they can get about their business of eating and cleaning. In business we constantly have issues and problems thrust upon us, sometimes minor and sometimes existential. Many businesses are facing existential crises right now, particularly in tourism and hospitality. Resilience and adaptability are critical skills to nurture in these times. Sometimes it seems insurmountable with no future visible. I can help with bringing some perspective to this for you.

The other thing to take from seahorses is this. The seemingly impossible is not an immutable fact. If girl seahorses can impregnate boy seahorses who then go about the business of squirting out 1,500 babies, you may need to think about some of the things you have decided are just not possible. Stress tends to have the effect of shuttering the mind and the fear of failure can often cause innovative thinking and communication with people who can help get stifled,.

I can help with this too. In fact it is my special happy place working with people facing major problems. I can provide an objective assessment of your business and very down to earth advice and support to make a difference.

So, if you would like to metaphorically become a seahorse in an ocean of things to cling to and food to consume, please call or email me. +64 275 665 682 or john.luxton@regenerationhq.co.nz