What Your Business Can Learn From This Seagull

I learned something from a seagull today.

The beach is the half-way stop on my cycle rides, at which point I take a short stroll along the water’s edge. The purple flag was up, meaning there was dangerous aqua life close by.

But the most dangerous life I encountered wasn’t aquatic, but a seagull.

A dead fish had washed up ashore. It could have been any gull’s lunch, except this gull had decided it was to be his. Each time another gull got too near, he would squark and chase it away. His process was basic, he spent too long addressing with each intruder and more would only keep coming. But it was his for as long as he was within view on my walk.

In business, it’s easy to assume the best opportunities are either “fair game”, or “unlikely to be yours”, depending on how you look at things.

But this gull decided the odds would be different for him. Not because he had a better process, nor because he was lucky for some reason, but because he was simply prepared to do the work.

We see many businesses delaying their market outreach because they’re “perfecting their funnel” or “refining their script”. This gull had none of that. He didn’t over-think it, nor did he “perfect his strategy”. He got the fish because he decided he would, then took action.

This isn’t a rally-cry against strategy (you need that) nor am I advocating trying to outmuscle competitors (doesn’t work). Rather, it is a call to start standing up and taking action.

If you think you’re not ready, remember this seagull. What does he have that you don’t?