adminthough we were all fishing bass. We were also not attracted by the same fishing spots. Some preferred to fish while stepping in the water others preferred to fish from outside the dam from the banks. We also did not use the same types of hooks. Alan favoured the worm offset hook, Newton used straight hook and Chris used worm offset ewg (extra wide gap) hook. Even for those who used similar type of hooks, the sizes were different so were the colours.
Alan paid too much attention to the way his fishing line appears. He would join his hook to the line with a uni-knot. He paid so much attention to detail that the way he arranged his fishing arsenal could even leave one salivating. He catches by giving the bass the best of what is available.
Alister is a patient fisherman. He rarely covers half of the small dam’s fishing areas. He keeps on trying one spot until he gets a response. He catches by disturbing and interfering with the bass’ territorial sovereignty.
A bass normally attacks baits that constantly disturb its peace and tranquillity for a long time. He used the surgeon’s fishing knot but it was so untidily joined to the hook. He left about three centimetres of the line hanging after the knot. He was not very bothered about the presentation of his fishing equipment.
As usual Newton waits until towards the end of the day to demonstrate his sparkle. It appears his zeal kicks into motion when the thoughts of going home empty-handed start coming into his mind. He used a dropper loop type of knot. He is not so meticulous about the way he ties his line though he does a reasonable job on his line.
Chris did not use any bass fishing recognisable knot, but we just tied our hooks strongly to the line. Chris relied more on his high energy levels and work ethics to catch rather than raw skill and hunting abilities. He is one of the few fishermen who fish round the whole dam. If the dam is small, he can go round twice or thrice per day. He catches by casting his net wide to increase his opportunities.
I excelled that day by changing rubbers very often which enabled me to quickly access the type of rubbers which were doing so well that everyone else copied me. I enjoyed first mover advantage though I also lost other opportunities by over-experimenting.
We all harvested handsomely that day. That day demonstrated to me that it is not the type of rod nor hook nor knot nor striking method that mattered but it was about playing the game to each individual strength.
Most people fail to reach their potential because they are preoccupied with copying their friends who use worm offset hooks when their mental and physical disposition requires them to use a worm offset ewg hook.
Common mistake which managers and mentors make
Most managers and mentors are preoccupied with making their subordinates or mentees like them. It is important to equip people with skills that enable them to work but also allow them to use their natural flair when carrying out their tasks.
Common misconception which mentees and subordinates make
Subordinates are at times preoccupied with imitating skills of their role models, fellow employees or to be like their bosses without paying adequate attention to their own strengths or their own weaknesses. This is also a common mistake which mentees make. At times they aspire to be exactly like their mentors.
There are no two people who perform the same task exactly the same way just as there are no two soccer players who play exactly the same way. Didier Drogba uses his physical strength to get the better of his opponents and scores.
Lionel Messi uses his dribbling skills, close ball control and quick acceleration to get the better of most goalkeepers. Both are very gifted soccer players. However, attempting to convert Didier to play like Messi will be disastrous just as it will be disastrous to try and convert Messi to play like Drogba. Both can copy some good skills from each other but they still revert to their competencies to achieve effectiveness.
As alluded to earlier it would be a sheer waste of time to force Alan to copy Chris sheer power and energy in fishing, just as it will be difficult to enable Chris to copy Alan’s recipe of attention to detail and his immaculate fishing methodologies. Both are good fishermen in their own way. Even the hunting spots they are attracted to are different.Here and there they can copy each other the weight of the sinkers, the type and colour of rubber but each one still retains his natural flair.
Copying the best practices from Apple is good but attempting to duplicate without modification, Apple’s business model in America to Zimbabwe without taking into consideration the cultural, social, political, legislative and economic factors is a recipe for disaster for any computer hardware manufacturing company in Zimbabwe.
Do you know your areas of competencies or you are preoccupied with copying someone else? Copying is good but adapt what you have copied to your natural skill. Jose Mourinho said:’ Bayern Munich are difficult to beat because they are like the Chinese — they copy best practices from other teams and implement it in their own style of play.”
Copy the best practices elsewhere and adapt them to your circumstances .
Everyone is born talented
One of the most popular Shona sayings is “munhu wese anobarwa aine chaakapfumbatiswa (Everyone is born with a talent)”. How many of us realise that we are all talented? It is good to copy and admire other peoples’ talents but also take time to understand your own talent and your own way of doing things.
The difficulty we all go through is to realise where our strengths are and leverage on them. Sometimes we can also leverage on our weaknesses. The journey into self-discovery is not an easy one. It requires people to do a thorough self-introspection. But how many are honest with themselves and how many people know how to evaluate themselves impartially without over valuing themselves or being too hard on themselves?
The writer is a Managing Consultant at CLC Training International. E-mail [email protected].
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