Are the Hunter Or the Hunted?

Are you a hunter, or the hunted?

I do not mean these terms to be used in the ‘stalking’ sense. Before we were immersed as denizens of the Digital/Technology Age, we were evolving from the hunter-gatherer role. We hunted for wildebeest to attain our dietary needs. These hunting skill-sets became ingrained into our DNA, and hunting became a recreational or recruiting pursuit. Invariably, we become mired in adventures such as ‘house-hunting’, ‘bargain-hunting’ and ‘hunting down a good deal’.

As an avid reader and collector of magic literature, my library catalogues over-500 books, including manuscripts and booklets. I have hunted down rare and out-of-print books – some of these procured through private collections and online bids. One first edition book cost multiplied in value ten times; my most expensive book is valued at least US$2,000 on eBay. I am not in a rush to sell these nuggets, as I value them for the knowledge and the pleasure of owning them. My friend, entrepreneur and magician Francis Ng is probably the owner of the world’s largest collection of cups-and-balls (used in magic). His vast collection includes collectibles, limited-edition pieces and those owned by the greats in magic. He revealed that he has hunted many pieces of these finely crafted goblets on his travels.

Executives search professionals, or headhunters as they are traditional called, seek and convince potential employees to attend job interviews. Certainly, potential candidates who are sought after by searchers have often been researched. Valuable human resources are those who are values for their unique and exquisite sets of people and functional skills. In his pursuit of his dreams and aspirations, my friend Matthew has committed one year of his life seeking further education and higher learning. 

Leadership Lessons: What have you hunted for lately? How do you feel when you are involved in a hunt? As a collective, what were the experiences you earned whilst working on a team project? How do you position yourself to be spotted for your talent, abilities and competencies? How often are you hunted down for your capabilities and expertise?

Cleaning House: A Metaphor for Deeper Issues?

It’s two days before I depart for Berlin, and I was tasked to clean the library room. This room houses my precious hoard of my books, magazines and digital resources. It is my fortress of solitude where I explore other worlds within my head. The question for me was: Am I a hoarder?

How often do we clean out the clutter? Oprah Winfrey once featured the issue of clutter and hoarders in an episode of her popular talk show. Clutter is stuff we accumulate through time? Hoarding is a mental disease that reflects our dependency to things that we have difficulty letting go of. On an emotional level, this can refer to bearing grudges, being resentful, vindictive and vengeful. This can manifest latter as abnormal reactions.

I still have my mangled triathlon bike in a box. It is a grim reminder of my accident in February this year. Should I throw it away? Should I salvage the parts that can be re-used? Did it serve its purpose as evidence?

I have been mindful and fascinated by Pareto’s Law (20:80), and how leverages work. If 80 percent of our staff merely contributes 20 percent of our results and productivity, why not de-hire some of them. Instead hire new staff that can deliver on the 80 percent of the results, and more. Why do we unconsciously promote mediocrity?

In the early stages of building fitness, whatever we do translates massively to improvements. Our bodies adapt and cope cleverly, by becoming stronger and less sore. Then, as we near the elite level of competition, more training intensity and volume does not covert into large improvements. We hit training plateaus often, and our incremental gains are less frequent. We appear to be doing more for less.

What I learnt from my back-stiffening and laborious task was:

1)    I have a lot of stuff! (Where did it all come from?)

2)    Get rid of things we (really) don’t need.

3)    Destroy traces of your documents (bills, receipts, notes, pamphlets and letters) as you do not want to risk identity theft.

4)    You will need to sort out what you have left (separate, categorise and organize).

5)    What you have left after the filtration process may be the essence.

6)    How do you feel when you throw stuff away: painful or pleasurable?

7)    Review your team profile and composition: who is worth keeping (employing). Who do we need to let go in challenging times?

8)    Keep a check when your collector’s urge returns.

9)    There is a distinction between being a collector and a hoarder.

I am a hoarder of information and knowledge; perhaps, I need the assurance of physical evidence to feel assured of my cognitive abilities. Mind you, few guests visit my library, as it is my mind-bank, so to speak. Yet, things do have a mysterious way of accumulating – and it would, eventually, reach a tipping point.

So, what do you clean out recently? What did you keep? What did you throw out? How did you feel after you throw out stuff you decided was not important?

We come with nothing, and we leave with nothing.