We are blessed with a large pool in our house and my wife Janice and I, along with our friends, love swimming in it, especially during these very hot days in Las Vegas. When Janice and I first moved to Las Vegas, we noticed birds coming around to drink from the pool which on the surface seems cute. But sometimes these “cute” birds leave behind a gift for us to clean up, their poop! As i had never had a pool, I did what everyone does nowadays and went to YouTube to find out how homeowners like me keep the birds from constantly drinking from your pool.
I found several videos showing the use of fake owls that some pool owners like I had placed around their pools as a deterrent to birds. Sort of like farmers using scarecrows to keep birds from eating their crops. So, I went on Amazon and bought about 10 of these fake owls. I also read during my research on all things
birds and fake owls, that you have to move the owls around every so often to keep the birds confused. So, once I received these owls (thanks again Amazon!) I proceeded to place them strategically around the pool. Guess what? Over a period of time we realized that for the most part, this tactic worked! Birds were not coming around our pool as much and it seemed like they acted as a deterrent. Oh, every so often, an errant bird, usually a pigeon, would wander around the pool but both Janice and I are quick to shoo these birds away.
Now there have been times when I have not paid as much attention to rotating the owls around the pool like I should. Recently, given travel and just not getting to it, the fake owls were sitting in their same places for over a week. One fine day as Janice and I were watching something on TV, I noticed what you are seeing in the pictures! A bird sitting on top of one of the fake owls! I could not believe it! There was this bird, in all of its defiant glory, sitting on something that this bird should have been afraid of. But it was not afraid. Janice and I had to laugh and luckily Janice took pictures of this bird. I figured if this bird was that bold, to just leave it alone. I guess the bird eventually took his drink from the pool and left to go on about his day.
Thinking about a subject for this blog entry, I got to thinking about this bold bird. What are the leadership lessons one can glean from this amusing incident? Three things come to mind: Strategy, Execution, Sustained Success. Sound familiar? The bird, in its own way, was practicing Ronin Leadership.
The bird had a strategy to get water from our pool. It executed on that strategy when it bypassed the owl and got its drink. Janice surmises that the bird already got its drink and was sitting on the owl’s head in an act of triumph, defiance or both! Sustained Success? I say yes. Any bird that goal-oriented and brave will be back for more of our pool water.
It is amazing the leadership lessons you can glean from simple, humorous and everyday occurrences like this. Your leadership acumen needs to embrace Strategy, Execution and Sustained Success. Remember that.
I still do battle with the birds around here using the fake owls and for the most part, I am winning the battle. But given that this bird is a Ronin Leader, I do not mind if this one comes around for a drink! He’s my kind of bird.
Signing off for now!
Mike