Part of the inspiration came from Desmond Morris and his book 'The Naked Ape'. However, it is not only the fact that man is the single species of monkeys and apes that is not entirely covered in hair that makes us different... The ability to think and to speak are other factors that distinguish us from our hairy counterparts (grant, does not apply to all humans).
Our professional habitat is nothing more than a jungle - a corporate jungle : there is a social ranking within and across the groups : the alpha male is the leader of the community and the lion is king of the jungle. Even the bigger mamals cannot claim immunity as somewhere hidden in the bushes, snakes might be waiting for their next free lunch. Leadership of the hurd only lasts until the new kid on the block decides that it's time for a shift in power and he is willing to put in a fight. It is to eat or be eaten and in the end only the fittest survive... sounds familiar?
It all started about 6 months ago - at that time I was working at the technology department of an international Banking & Insurance company as Head of this and Head of that. The money was good, I had a lot of responsibilities, managed big teams and big budgets and a smashing career was in front of me. I was the alpha male with the potential to become a lion. What did I want or need more : more responsibility? more money? I was not looking for more but for something completely different.
It took me while to see through the bling bling of being a hotshot manager and discover the one thing I was missing : Passion!
Passion means having a very strong belief or feeling about something and comes from the Latin word pati which means to suffer. The usage of the word passion in the latter context has become obsolete but for its Catholic connotation but that's not what we are talking about here.
synonyms for the modern day meaning of passion include fervour, ardour, enthousiasm and zeal (with special thanks to Webster)
Passion for what you are doing is what you need. Steve Jobs once said : 'You have got to find what you love... and love what you do'. There's lot's of things I love Steve but I reckon that you basically referred to 'love' in the professional domain. And I quickly understood that I was in the wrong game - it is not that I disliked what I was doing but what was in it for me? Putting in long hours, managing, traveling and working abroad, living out of a suitcase, traffic jams... and all this for the sake of shareholders' value : the story of my life (and of so many others).
That's when I decided to establish the Thinking Ape as it would stand for everything that I love doing : inspiring others, teaching and coaching the fundamentals of communication, writing, helping others with their professional and personal development, leadership, entrepreneurship, strategy and execution, transition, change management & innovation.
This blog is the Thinking Ape's voice, it's the call of the corporate jungle... My mission is to help you to adapt to this constantly changing habitat with its re-organisations, Mergers & Acquisitions, sourcing, ... and become the fittest of the pack. Everybody has the potential to become the alpha male!
"The Thinking Ape" might be a nonsensical name but just like some of those other companies with nonsensical names, we aspire to make the difference. Personally, I don't claim to be the best but I know that I am good at what I am doing coz I do it with passion and that's what makes the difference.
Want to know more about how to win the race and what to do when the lion sleeps tonight? Then keep reading my blogs in the future, post a comment or mail me with your questions.