Building Your Business and Tired of Banging Your Head Against The Wall?

The other day while leaving home there was the sound which usually means spring is not far off. The local group of woodpeckers pecking away at a tree nearby. We all know many people who would not even hear the sound of the woodpeckers. We all know other people who might hear the sound and not know what it was, or not even care what it is. “In fact, Mitch Tublin, why exactly are you writing to us about the woodpecker?”

A few facts to share with you first, all from Wikipedia, ‘the free encyclopedia’ with some changes in the basic wording, never to the facts. All are about the Woodpecker.

The woodpeckers, piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers are a family, Picidae, of near-passerine birds. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. Most species live in forests or woodland habitats, although a few species are known to live in treeless areas, such as rocky hillsides and deserts. There are about 200 species and about 30 genera in this family. Members of the family Picidae have strong bills for drilling and drumming on trees and long sticky tongues for extracting food. Woodpecker bills are typically longer, sharper and stronger than the bills of piculets and wrynecks; however their morphology is very similar. The bill’s chisel-like tip is kept sharp by the pecking action in birds that regularly use it on wood. Many of the foraging, breeding and signaling behaviors of woodpeckers involve drumming and hammering using the bill. To prevent brain damage from the rapid and repeated impacts, woodpeckers have evolved a number of adaptations to protect the brain. These include small brain size, the orientation of the brain within the skull (which maximizes the area of contact between the brain and the skull) and the short duration of contact. The millisecond before contact with wood a thickened nictitating membrane closes, protecting the eye from flying debris. The nostrils are also protected; they are often slit-like and have special feathers to cover them.

Woodpeckers, piculets and wrynecks all possess zygodactyl feet. Zygodactyl feet consist of four toes, the first (hallux) and the fourth facing backward and the second and third facing forward. This foot arrangement is good for grasping the limbs and trunks of trees. Members of this family can walk vertically up a tree trunk, which is beneficial for activities such as foraging for food or nest excavation. In addition to the strong claws and feet, woodpeckers have short strong legs. This is typical of birds that regularly forage on trunks. The tails of all woodpeckers except the piculets and wrynecks are stiffened, and when the bird perches on vertical surfaces, the tail and feet work together to support it.

In summary, there are almost 200 hundred types of woodpeckers. They are found almost everywhere in the world. Their bills are strong for the drilling and drumming on trees. These are kept sharp by the regular pecking action from use on wood. Evolution has created protective measures for their brain not to be harmed by the constant pounding. Their feet are specifically designed for grabbing limbs and trees and to walk vertically up the tree.

Here is the point, no matter what your personal beliefs are, a woodpecker is perfectly designed to be a woodpecker. In fact, over time the woodpecker has become even better designed to be a woodpecker.

When we self reflect upon what are our strengths and what are our weaknesses, are we not perfectly designed to be who we are intended to be? If you are intent on growing your business, and you are facing your own fears or self doubts, do you recognize this is a natural protective mechanism to protect you, which you must break through to be successful?

The woodpecker keeps it’s own bill sharp by the continued pecking and drilling into the wood of the trees. Is it really that much of a stretch to say we become better people and better leaders by continued personal growth and through our constant striving to learn more?

Each of us have our own views, opinions and talents. If we are not sharing these with others, why is that? Isn’t it our duty to share what we know and what we bring to this earth with others? For the few, or for the many, when you have listeners, followers, and those who want to hear or read what you have to say, is it not our obligation to speak it, write it, share it?

You are encouraged to do so. One word of caution – do not try to be a woodpecker.

Mitch Tublin is an advanced certified personal and executive coach who resides in Stamford, CT.