SURVIVE | SUSTAIN | SUPERSEDE

SURVIVE | SUSTAIN | SUPERSEDE

All About Survival

Earth has seen repeated mass extinctions that have wiped a substantial part of  human civilization and hugely eclipsed the existence of the ones left alive. How is  it that a considerable lot of humans and creatures survive? Is it a random  likelihood, or luck? The cause that is responsible for such tragic  adversities to occur is often overlooked. Perhaps, because it is too risky to not  happen, or too costly to not take care of in the first place or beliefs like  - Nature will adapt, what has to happen, will happen.

Paleontologists say, about 66 million years ago, the earth was hit by a large celestial object that released toxic, climate-changing gases marking the cause of dinosaur extinction.

Another such instance, about 70,000 years ago, in Toba, Indonesia there occurred a volcanic super- eruption that literally put the human species to ashes to an extent of extinction. The statistics say that only around  500  reproducing females   survived  in  the  world.

But this was thousands of years ago and one would think that today we have come a long way ahead of the ancient times and are well equipped and have enough social morale to fight against or prevent a catastrophe that could kill us. Do you think it is really about time?

“Sustainability is the key to our survival on this planet and will also determine success on all levels.” – Shari Arison                                         

Imagine, people who would feel disturbed after looking at a dog get hit by a car, for them to think that an entire human race may end one day is another trauma, with a magnitude of fear so big that they snap into an alternate way of thinking, completely avoiding its possibility. 

The same thing happened to Nokia – one of the bestselling brands that faced defeat because it let fear drive its decisions. According to the experts’, Nokia knew that its OS is not as good as Apple,  and middle management didn’t convey this to the top management fearing they would lose their job. They overlooked the possibility of failure in aid to protect their careers, had fear led decisions, and failed to innovate, ergo failed to survive.

“Survivors aren’t always the strongest; sometimes they’re the smartest, but more often simply the luckiest.” – Carrie Ryan

Survival of the fittest

Have you ever seen a wildlife jungle chase, (of course on Nat Geo)? There is tense music in the backdrop, the eyes of the lion are fixed on the hoard of distant deer, his mouth salivating and heart racing to make a kill.

The deer are strategizing, making slow movements at first. The lion silently walking, contemplating, then it begins, with him sprinting in their direction, unabashedly. They are trying to cover more ground with each stride and it is getting real. Some of them flaunt their athletic hinting the lion that they are fit and maybe he should pick on some weaker ones. While a few manage to survive their way out, the lion now focuses on the lone, young one right ahead of him. 

The deer manages to dodge several times, as it is not always  about sprinting  the fastest. The lion  still doesn’t give up because he knows the deer’s slim legs would make  him  trip  only  too  easily. The deer’s  body  touches the ground, the lion pauses, and the deer runs again. The deer loses the battle eventually, but the chase is a never-ending one!

In this chase, many deer outmaneuvered the lion while  he was only able to hunt the young, weakest one. The deer ran for their life, the lion for food signifying the importance of purpose  over need.

“In the animal kingdom, one of the keys to survival is to outwit your enemies. And when you’re surrounded by carnivores, one of the best strategies is to fade into the background and disappear.” – Neil deGrasse Tyson

Your purpose fuels your vision to transform and be ready for the wave you see coming toward you. We were all like that hoard of deer when Covid-19 wave hit us. Yelp data, in its Economic Impact report, shows that 60% of business shut down due to coronavirus pandemic are now permanent focusing on the point that only the fittest  have survived.

 

Transformation is the key

There is no magic method to survive pandemic like Covid-19 or any other for that matter. Indeed, there is something that can be done to adapt  better  and  increase your chances. Transformation. Let’s understand this with an inspiring story of an Eagle –

The Eagle has the longest life span and can live up to 70 years. But, to achieve this it has to go through a painful process (lasting for 5 months) which requires the eagle to fly to the top of a mountain and sit on its nest. There the eagle knocks its bent beak against a rock until it falls out. Then it waits for its beak to grow back. Post which, it plucks it talons out. Once the talons grow back it repeats the same with its heavy thick feathers because it makes it difficult for him to fly. When the feathers grow back, it takes a brand new flight of rebirth to live for another 30 years. Just like the eagle, it is necessary for everyone to go through the process of change – it may be challenging or painful for us at first in a way that initially it might increase cost or break the flow of things but only to resume again with fresh energy. 

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin 

Many have surrendered themselves to this process of change with a free mindset and hope of success. Now imagine, a man who is returning from work, and is tired because of his day’s tasks. He stops by a tea vendor and calls for a masala chai. He is served with a hot steamy cup of tea which brings slight smile to his face, and soothes his soul. After he finishes, he reaches his shirt pocket to pay for tea and finds a 500 Rs note. He secretly wishes for the tea vendor to have change else he would have to go to an ATM. The tea vendor refuses to take the money and points him in the direction of a Paytm scanner. He is surprised and relieved both. He scans and pays for the tea. What a hassle free moment, right?

Paytm was such an innovation that disrupted the way payments were made. People  don’t  always carry much cash and the fact that small tea vendor or grocery seller by the roadside is accepting payments through Paytm drove a lot of customers to their shops because they understood what customers  needed.

“Adaptability and constant innovation is key to the survival of any company operating in a competitive market.” – Shiv Nadar

Speaking of transformation, do you know how a popular gym Cult moved its workouts online? Gyms and fitness companies had to think of a creative way to reach people when they couldn’t go to gym physically. Cult released at home workout session at Cult.Fit. The change in approach helped the gym to stay connected to customers.

From a small tea vendor to a big fitness brand like Cult, every one of them reconsidered their place in the pandemic, took a moment to redefine processes, underwent transformation to be able to take a flight of rebirth for survival in the times ahead.

 

Life Before Pandemic

How excited you are when you get invited to a wedding?! May it be your best friend’s wedding or that of a daughter of your distant relatives, weddings are almost always fun. So many people from bride’s and groom’s side gather for the big day with all smiles and gifts. The people have fun, eat and drink as if there is no tomorrow.

With pandemic making a cameo in the movie called life the transformation of big fat Indian weddings to a simple wedding with the maximum guest list of 50 swinged the societal norms for a toss. 

Not just big weddings, casual parties, Friday nights, outings, tourism and many other normal activities, had become memories of the past. When the quarantine rules were relaxed for the first time, people felt lucky to get a chance to step out for grocery shopping as if one realizes the value of freedom after coming out of jail.

The outlook of people had altered. For example, schools and colleges began providing online education. Teachers were trained so that they could become platform friendly. Internet connection became a primary need. Even offices that used to be reluctant to give leaves to their employees became ready for work from home culture. It all almost turned out like a well-oiled machine, apart from a few technical glitches and the sound of ‘Am I audible?’

Battle of Pandemic

Covid-19  outbreak in 2019 made many feel doomed. The fact that people had not experienced such a stay at home pandemic in recent past made it more difficult to accept the reality. The ones who had traveler foot could not stay at ease. However, the world has seen a series of such events with Asian Flu in 1957, HIV/AIDS in 1981, SARS in 2003, followed by Covid-19 in 2019. The happenings of other such diseases trace its roots long back in past.

Close to the end of 2020, the Covid-19 cases were surging down, but people were still battling with the pandemic. To not let the laid back attitude, take over the initial progress, everyone tried to stay cautious. The fear of someone sneezing or coughing was real, so the social distancing norms were drilled in everyone’s head.

“Survival can be summed up in three words, never give up. That’s the heart of it really. Just keep trying.” – Bear Grylls

The offices summoned their employees on a rotational basis. The restaurants were open, but people were skeptic about their hygiene. Malls didn’t see traffic because online shopping seemed safer choice. The retail shopkeepers  realized the importance of  building an online presence.  

The subscriptions of Netflix and Amazon Prime saw more than 60% growth in subscriber base during the lockdown period. When the movie theatres opened their doors, the customers were hesitant to leave the safe and comfortable forms of entertainment. The restrictions had eased, but our minds had already become complacent with the new normal.

Some of us work 9-5 jobs, some are entrepreneurs, and some are fueled by startup wave. Startup culture in India took off during 2016 and it has been growing ever since. But in Sept 2020, Live mint news stated that about 25% of startups had only 6 months of runway. To pull them out of trouble, they would need either government support or funding. The battle of pandemic continued for them.

At the same time, fourth-generation owner of a 155-year-old sports shop in Mumbai who had initially seen no customers coming to his shop, later spent most of the time running his business on WhatsApp by sharing sports equipment and accepting payment through Google Pay.

It is very interesting to see how people are navigating to different ways (which they might not have taken up otherwise) to win the battles like pandemic. 

Survivor v/s Savior

Remember the time, when you had flu or you couldn’t seem to stop coughing or  you  had any health issue, and you went to see your doctor? One step in the hospital and you notice a different smell, the antiseptic odor, that sort of overpowers you for a moment. Then finally, comes your turn to enter the doctor’s cabin as the compounder calls out your name.

Suddenly, overwhelmed by the personality of doctor, half of your problems start to fade away. In that moment, somehow you feel better. Often, the doctors seem to emphasize the importance of strong immune system. Because, it can help your body sustain as it acquaints itself with the new virus when you get sick.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

MR. PRAKASH ARYA

Enthusiast, Strategist, Keen Planner and Strong Charisma, these are some of the motivations with which he associate himself. He describes himself as an eProfessional, who evangelizes digital media as Entrepreneur, Mentor, Management Consultant, Speaker and Writer and Domain Knowledge Expert. In his phenomenal more than two decades of long career, he have played varied roles and been an eSpecialist in the sphere of Digital and Online Communication as well as in eBusinesses in different organizations in India and abroad.

 

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