aluminum tops were placed on the bottles, sealing out both germs
and songbirds.
By the 1950s, blue tits all over the UK had learned how to
stick their beaks through the aluminum and drink the cream. But,
to this day, robins have not managed to learn this. The reason,
according to Berkeley professor Allan Wilson, is that robins are ter-
ritorial birds, spending some of their time as breeding pairs, then
much of the rest of it keeping rivals out of their areas. They have
little or no chance to imitate each other. Blue tits, on the other
hand, spend several months of each year in flocks of up to a dozen
birds. As they move around from one garden to the next, they have
the opportunity to imitate any bird that has learned the secret of
the milk bottle top. Arie de Geus calls this behavior “flocking.” It is
an essential social ingredient of the idea of imitation. Of course, for
this to work effectively, you have to be prepared to share knowledge
as well as be intent on acquiring it!Are you a robin or a blue tit in the way that you seek to imitate others? Are you happy for
others to benefit from your ideas and experiences? What do you do to ensure that this
happens effectively?10 ways of ensuring you benefit from imitating others
1 Spend time with the people you most admire in your organization. In a very
short time we pick up the mannerisms and approaches adopted by
others close to us. It is important, therefore, to be discriminating in
how you spend your time.
2 Identify the people you most admire in your chosen line of work and find
ways of watching them in action. If you can imitate the best in your
field you are likely to be more successful.
3 Identify areas of your own performance that you would like to improve and
think of the person in your organization who does those best. This kind of
specific imitation can be a very positive way of improving skills, for
example, chairing a meeting or giving feedback.
4 Seek out television programs or films that offer good examples to imitate.
Given your brain’s tendency to imitate, be careful what you feed it.110 Power Up Your Mind