Espionage or winner strategy - HR must learn from Rattle snake

The prey catching or hunting strategy of the rattle snakes conveys a finest management message to the corporate world. Unlike other snakes that use ‘constriction’ technique to kill its prey, the rattle snakes employ the technique of ‘self belief’ and ‘complete understanding’ of its ‘effort and consequence’ in catching its prey.

The rattle snake rattles its tail both to detract its enemies and also to attract its prey. Once the prey is at the reachable distance, the snake gallops onto the prey and then bites to inject the venom. Once, the venom is injected into the prey, the snake moves away. It knows that the venom would certainly kill the prey therefore it waits patiently. This shows the confidence and the complete understanding of the rattle snake.

The prey, however, runs away from the snake, hoping that it could save itself from its predator. But it doesn’t know the poison is anyway going to kill it. The snake, after biting the prey, never show any restlessness to catch the prey, it calmly moves to search the prey after a while. It knows that, it can definitely find the prey as it cannot go away.

Every corporate should also adopt such strategies to keep its employees to do the job defined to them. The corporate should know how to make its employees responsible, committed and task centric. The corporate culture and freedom must ensure that and not the bosses and HR function employ spy to know about its employees. The corporate also must have the strategy to know and understand the actual performance and performance potential of each employee. The method they employ to assess the people should be clearly and undoubtedly conveyed to the employees so that they are committed and responsible to their job. Failing which, they may endanger their survival in the corporate.

The approach of suspicion, cross checking, spying & espionage etc., should not be the culture of the corporate in knowing or dealing with the employees. Many corporate bosses do engage seriously in practicing ‘spying and espionage’ approach. They use different employees to spy at each other.

The corporate should have confidence to give freedom to its employees and must have confidence in knowing how the freedom is being used by them. The rattle snake once bits the prey wait patiently till the prey to die. It knows that the prey would die and also it knows, it can locate its whereabouts easily.

Patience, confidence, self belief, understanding of the strategy, swiftness etc., can be learned from the hunting approach of the rattle snakes. It is not the aggression or exhibition or demonstration of the ‘physical’ strength, the ‘smart strategy’ is what the rattle snakes use to hut its prey.

The smart strategy should anchor at ‘self belief’ and ‘complete understanding’ only then the effort born out of such smart strategy would yield the desired result.

Dr S Ranganathan