Six Business Lessons Learned From the Bamboo

Are you familiar with the Bamboo plant? Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family. These evergreens are one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth, with reported growth rates of 39 inches in 24 hours. Unlike trees, individual bamboo stems emerge from the ground at their full diameter and grow to their full height in a single growing season of three to four months. During these several months, each new shoot grows vertically with no branching out until the majority of the mature height is reached.

I am always interested in drawing good analogies. Analogies can be powerful … in terms of perspective, meaning, and learning. Consider these six business lessons learned from these unique perennial evergreens:

What looks weak … is actually very strong

Bend … but do not break

Be deeply rooted … yet keep your flexibility

Commit yourself … to growth & renewal

Unleash your power … to spring back

These are just five lessons from the bamboo; one could easily come up with many more.

These are not things that we do not already know, of course.

Yet, the bamboo simply reminds us of what we already know but may have forgotten.

Then it is up to us to put these lessons (or reminders) of resilience into daily use through persistence and practice.

The greatest lesson?

You do not need to be perfect. You need only to be resilient.