by Adrian Amos
Last week Homes & Land had our Annual Business Conference where we were fortunate enough to have New York Times Best Selling Author Stefan Swanepoel as our keynote speaker.
Stefan presented findings from his latest book “Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business & Life,” where he uses animals from the plains of Africa as metaphors for personality traits and survival skills we use every day.
Is your greatest strength creativity under pressure?
Adaptable people-skills?
Or fluid communication abilities?
A couple years ago Stefan noticed how different animals used similar traits to survive in their environment too.
All of us have a “primary animal” – or set of skills we rely on in our personal and business lives.
Mine is the Communicating Elephant. I’m a good listener and good communicator and I do rely heavily on my communication abilities as a writer, marketer, and friend.
At the conference, Stefan told this incredible story about the elephants he witnessed in Africa. They have several different sounds they make with their trunks to communicate with the herd, their children, and interestingly – in mourning when a pack member has died.
The elephants stomp on the ground, which can be heard for 10 miles or more, calling the rest of the pack to join them in a somber “song” marking the passing of one of the herd.
When you know your animal – and the animal for those closest to you – it can help you understand yourself and how you interact with others.
More importantly, it can help you better understand your bosses, co-workers, clients, friends & family members by knowing what their strengths are and how they relate to the world.
Stefan worked with psychologists to develop an online quiz to determine your primary animal. Take it here.
The story Stefan unfolds in his book is an incredible journey into the Serengeti in Africa, and into your own psyche. It’s definitely worth reading! Pick up a copy here.
And tell us what animal you are.
