Well, I could have also said “Lions or Sloths” or “Eagles or Roosters”, but I’m sure you get the drift. Let’s just stick to Elephants and Mice, for I’m sure, you just don’t look at them as animals but also associate other basic human characteristics with them. Elephant: Wise, Powerful, Genial, Big! and Mice on the other hand: tiny, busy, annoying and unclean?
So, if the association is so stark and its common knowledge to figure out that Elephants do stand apart from Mice, then does it also mean that Mice are non-essential resources in an earthly ecosystem? Does the planet also share the same perception that humans have regarding who out of the two possess a better ‘mindset’?
I’m aware that there exists a thought that it is ludicrous to opine that animals cannot possess a mindset, let alone an Agile Mindset! Before you brand me as an Agile dilettante, let me clear the air by admitting that my intent is to contextualise ‘mindset’ in an Agile environment. Using an Elephant and Mice is with a purpose. A purpose is drawn from an awareness that the human mind demonstrates similar behavioural characteristics that are also displayed by an Elephant or a Mouse. Our mind is an Elephant and a Mouse!
The Elephant and the Mouse are anthropomorphic. Individual human beings establish a set of attitudes that define them and their existence, which denotes the Mindset. Now, the mind assumes this identity, and hence, possibilities of the mind displaying characteristics of an Elephant or a Mouse are quite high.
So which mindset works better? A mindset of an Elephant or the mindset of a Mouse? Which of the two, given an option, should we adopt in an Agile practice? To answer that, let us examine certain enduring realities that we co-exist with:
Adapt or Perish
Earth, for some strange reason, allows creatures to just survive. Either the creature adapts or it perishes. Earth is unforgiving in this regard. She offers resources which she does not deliver at the doorstep, they are meant to be sought after. It is for the animals to seek them out for survival, and in the process, they adapt to Earths policies and procedures. Those that don’t, are unceremoniously obliterated with no sign of remorse. Earth does not adapt; she expects all to adapt to her. Humans have tried to tinker with her, and have consistently paid a heavy price. Hence, Elephants and Mice are equal as far as the question of their survival is in this habitat, they both have submitted to adapt to the changing environments. Both of them have learnt to adapt to the resources bestowed to them and have made the most of them.
Homeostasis
The tendency to maintain harmony and balance between interdependent elements, especially governed by psychological processes is Homeostasis. Everything in the multiverse is in fine balance. One cannot create out of anything and therefore there exist consequences. Consequences, is a manifestation of action, a result from doing or not doing. The mind is defined by these consequences. Be it an Elephant or a Mouse, they both leave an ecological signature on this planet because they are always doing things or avoiding doing things as part of the delicate balance for survival. This is applicable to every single animal. The scheme is to exist in this cosmic balance by either action or reaction till termination. So irrespective if you are an Elephant or a Mouse, you exist and that existence is in a balance outside your cognitive perception.
Most Agile practitioners understand ‘mindset’ and then do the unthinkable. They contextualise their mind. Context is good to simplify and comprehend information. It aids expression and communication. However, context also establishes boundaries. It creates a restriction on free will.
An elephant lives in a context of:
- I identify with my heard (dependency in action)
- I need to care for my young/ herd until they can be on their own (social responsibility)
- I can be tamed by humans (willingness to change)
- That rope around my feet holds me down (limiting beliefs)
- Anger for me is violence (self-control)
A mouse lives in a context of:
- I am myself (freedom of action)
- I need to be constantly aware of my surroundings (social and self-awareness)
- I shall thrive in numbers (social co-existence)
- I won’t be tamed by humans easily (unwilling to change)
- I crave for food (instant gratification)
As an Agilist the emphasis is on the “Being’, having a mindset that does not anchor itself to any contextual phenomena. A mind that can be an Elephant and Mouse on free will.
Not many leaders switch effortlessly between an elephant or a mouse in their organizations. Similarly, many Agilists are not as agile as their organization wants them to be. This is the road less taken. An agile mindset does not hold onto barriers. It adapts by choice to achieve the best fit. Agile mindset provokes actions that are indicative of a desire to constantly improve and operate in known and unknown risks. An Agile mindset is not discouraged by failures.
To return to the title of this article, which of these two animals reflect an Agile Mindset?
Well, the answer lies in the fact that these two are the extremities of the mindset spectrum. Both possess agility in their own domains. What is essential is that one needs to harness the elephant and the mouse in oneself and adapt to the situation. The key to mindset is to know when to harness one and exploit the other and never succumb to either at any given point.
