Man was a hunter before he became a great thinker.

But, before Man was a hunter Man was a scavenger/hunter or maybe just a plain scavenger who ate the leftovers from better hunters such as lions.

Considering the eons of time and the relatively short duration of Man's existence, Man's thinking ability grew tremendously quickly, hand in hand with his hunting ability...then farming ability, then trading ability, etc.

OK, where am I going with this?

Normal human beings have the capacity to be both great hunters and great thinkers. Normal human beings have natural (genetic) aptitude in these areas. Some more than others, some less. Because we are such a social species and we are frail at birth and so dependent on adults for many years, our environment (upbringing) can expand or throttle our natural aptitude...but, with discipline and never-ending effort we can remove the throttle effect and/or increase the expansion effect. Both these inbred processes - hunting and thinking - require systems and plans and effort and the ability to not just ‘talk the talk’ but also ‘walk the walk’ and ‘run the run’.

OK, where am I going with this?

My point is: for business people, the business environment is our hunting and thinking ground. As has (I'm sure) always been the case, the best hunters will be valued, admired, and rewarded. But, hunting in business is becoming more and more complicated so the best thinkers are needed in addition to the best hunters.

What is really quite rare: finding a top-notch hunter who is also a top-notch thinker. That’s a rare breed.

People who wish to obtain success in business, need to know themselves.

They need to ask:

• am I a hunter?
• if so, am I a really good one?
• if not, am I prepared to improve my ability to hunt, do whatever it takes, to become a really good hunter?

•  am I a thinker?
• if so, am I a really good thinker?
• if not, am I prepared to improve my ability to think, do whatever it takes, to become a really good thinker?

Honest answers to these questions will provide the framework for the self-knowledge required for business roles.

Just the framework...not the construction details.