On a trip to Africa, in the Serengeti, we were on a photo safari.  It was incredibly entertaining and educational.  Our group of nine, plus two guides were committed to both sighting the wonderful wildlife and our philosophical discussions.  The most difficult of the animals to sight was the leopard.   Everyone’s perspective for that search and the philosophical was important.

First, the leopard is nocturnal.  He does not typically hang out on the plain as the cheetah does.  Instead, his days are spent on the branch of a tree where the canopy of the tree hangs over the branch he occupies.  The search, therefore, is one of looking across the plains to the trees in search of the leopard’s tail that hangs below the canopy. The skill of spotting the tail was developed in the guides but any one of us could be the one to succeed.  We had to pull our eyes away from the lion, the cheetah, the birds to take the distance view.  I have to say finding that elusive tail was the most rewarding of the trip for me.

After sighting the distant tail, the guides would race our land cruiser across the plains and park right below the tree branch. There we could open the top of the cruiser and gaze, almost close enough to actually caress the leopard.

Incredible.

For the business owner, pulling one’s eyes away from every day business searching for the future, the elusive business opportunity, can be very challenging.  Establishing an environment that encourages all to look across the broad plain of business opportunities means that finding the elusive is more possible.

This too can be incredible, making the business more sustainable into the future rather than facing the typical 20 year decline after running a business cycle.