For those that have subscribed to this newsletter and come back for new posts, I thank you. I have published a website (Brent M. Jones Connected Events Matter) for 4 + years and before that under another name. The breadth of material covered on the website is amazing. Grammarly told me I had reviewed over 6,000,000 words just this year in everything I do. How is that even possible? If this is your first visit, I hope you will subscribe using the button at the bottom.
A post on October 9th titled "Why, Why, Why do things happen?" featured a picture of a chicken crossing the road at the beginning and then discussed the subject: Why. The answer was suggested that it could be concerning the cause or reason something is done. (Chicken crosses the road?) Sometimes these reasons are called goals, and some are called problems: either way, the attempt to find out why can involve receiving advice.
Today's post involves geese flying in formation. Of course, if you live near someone like me who lives by a lake, you will notice that sometimes both sides seem even and others do not.
Why are there more birds on one side of the V? The simple answer is that geese care about each other. They relieve each other in intervals. Sometimes when geese or other birds are flying in formation, one side of the V has many more individuals and looks like a wedge. This is because they seldom fly directly into the wind, making the formation's downward part easier.
This "bird-public-spirited" approach doesn't stop with the formation. The decision of which bird leads the V formation is also made out of concern for the whole team. The flock of birds will share the lead of the V and rotate throughout the migratory flight. Therefore, as the leaders tire, they fall back into the community, and the birds behind will take over. This indicates that the lead would often change during a very long flight. Leadership is shared, and each takes a turn at it.
What lesson is evident from this short article? The lesson here is that with a team working together to reach a common goal, the group will gain momentum from the first push, continue supporting each other, and develop strategies, values, and action plans. In a V-formation, the whole flock extends at least 71% more flying range than if each bird flew alone.
An obvious question would be, why would any intelligent goose want to lead the formation and work twice as hard? The answer has to do with fairness, not just goodwill. The time a bird leads a formation strongly correlates with the time it can profit from flying in another bird's wake. The birds match the time they spend in the wake of each other by frequent pairwise switches of the leading position. They cooperate because it is in their own best interest.
An obvious conclusion would be to ensure your teams are set up and functioning reasonably.
