Win-Win Deal? Ask the Ants! (2)

I read an interesting story about the frog and the scorpion. There was a major flood and the river overflowed its bank. One day, the scorpion wanted to cross to the other side of the river but couldn’t. So, he approached the frog and said, “Frog, please carry me on your back to the other side of the river.” Scared, the frog said, “I can’t do that! When we get to the middle of the river, you will sting me.” “If I sting you we will both die; why will I do that?” the scorpion replied. That made sense to the frog, so he decided to give the scorpion a ride. At the middle of the river, however, the scorpion stung the frog. The drowning frog managed to ask, “Why did you sting me?”, and the scorpion replied, “I’m sorry, it is my nature to sting.” So they both drowned.

How important is success to you? Do you really desire to be on top of your game? Do you want to be the leading brand among your peers? Then never ever despise your team. Never treat people as mere tools to be used and discarded after achieving your goals. People may work with you and for you because they are out of options, while you capitalize on their vulnerability but they will neither give you their best nor go the extra mile to make you succeed.  According to Zig Ziglar, “You will get all you want in life, if you help enough other people get what they want.” Ants are smart enough to know that success is a product of a team work; you can only get as much as you give. Tropical adult ants live highly energetic lives fueled by their consumption of honeydew, which is rich in sugar and vitamins. They ensure constant supply through:

1. Partnership: tropical ants have profitable relationship with aphids and mealybugs. These smaller insects feed the ants by secreting honeydew while they consume plant juice.
2. Protection: in exchange for the honeydew, the ants offer the aphids and mealybugs protection by secreting chemicals to scare predators away. When ants sense a storm coming, they cover the mealybugs with leaves to keep them from the rain.
3. Nurturing Relationship: according to researchers, only ants and humans keep domestic animals. The ants carry their domesticated aphids and mealybugs from one plant to another in search of sweeter sap so that they can produce more honeydew. They do what is best for their partners to get the best from them.

When you make winners out of people, they become committed to your drive to win!