In multiple fields the first player helps the one behind – but only if lined up in strict order: slightly sideways
George ILIEV
Birds flying in V-formation need 20%-30% less energy than when flying alone. Big birds such as geese, storks and pelicans minimise their energy
expenditure by capturing the uplift generated at the wing tips of the bird flapping in front, research published in the journal Nature reveals. However, for this mechanism to work, the second bird has to be located sideways from the leading bird. If flying directly behind, the follower would have to counteract a downdraft coming down the back of the leading bird.
Birds flying in V-formation need 20%-30% less energy than when flying alone. Big birds such as geese, storks and pelicans minimise their energy expenditure by capturing the uplift generated at the wing tips of the bird flapping in front, research published in the journal Nature reveals. However, for this mechanism to work, the second bird has to be located sideways from the leading bird. If flying directly behind, the follower would have to counteract a downdraft coming down the back of the leading bird.
The V-formation is clearly visible in the five-tiers of
economic development of East Asia - the famous Flying Geese paradigm. As Asian countries industrialised after the 1960s, they moved in the wake of Japan and sequentially took on the older low-tech industries that Japan had outgrown. Textiles, toys, chemicals and steel, in which Japan once led the region, moved first to the four tigers (South Korea,
Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore); then to a third tier of
countries - Malaysia and Thailand; then to China; and now increasingly to Vietnam and India. Thus Japan created
macroeconomic uplift for the four tiger economies behind it; they in turn passed on updraft to the ones following them and so on. And yet, the model worked so well because these countries did not exactly copy each industry but introduced slight variations - the sideshift seen in the V-formations of birds.
Mentoring in a similar way creates metaphorical uplift for the “disciple” being mentored by a leading figure. And it is exactly the V-formation that distinguishes a "mentee" from a "protégé". The mentor-mentee relationship works best when the two are not in the same industry or organisation, i.e. when located sideways in V-formation. Otherwise when a "mentee" is moving immediately in the wake of the mentor in the same organisation, the mentee is more fittingly described with the unflattering term "protégé".
Rolled out on a
grander, “open-access” scale, this model can even apply to the Linkedin influencers category, where 500+ influencers like Richard Branson and Jack Welch trample the road with their thoughts and wisdom for thousands of others to follow. A giant V-formation of birds indeed, numbering 3.5 million followers in the case of the No 1 influencer, Richard Branson.
great article!
ReplyDeleteThank you Adrian.
ReplyDeleteBelow is an interesting comment submitted on Linkedin:
Interesting observations in relation to birds. But remember, the birds keep on exchanging positions. Just as penguins in a huddle.
Remember reading a very good post, not long ago, about having a network rather than a mentor.
Kenneth Roberts
(B'Architecture, ARB, MRIBA, MRIAI, RIAI Architect Acc. in Conservation Grade III, MSc Project Mgmt, Prince2, MBA Finance)
Here is an excerpt from the article referred to above on having a team of mentors and staying away from your boss as a mentor, by Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Red Hat:
ReplyDelete"I typically suggest staying away from people you currently work with. Even though you can have the best of friends at work and build solid relationships with colleagues, if you ever decide to leave your job, it can be hard having someone from work on your team who can objectively weigh your next move. "
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20131016162631-27700733-forget-a-mentor-build-a-team