Tyrannosaurus Wrecks

Ali Tufail
Aug 8, 2017 · 3 min read

Why did the tyrannosaurus rex have small hands? This isn’t the beginning of a joke, it’s a genuine question.

I just don’t get it, I sometimes like to imagine that years from now we will make a discovery. Which will be followed by an announcement, “yeah, we actually….put the skeleton together wrong, their real arms are much longer.” We’ll all hear this and be like of course, it all makes sense. “You crazy scientists you, messing up fossils, lol.”

I don’t just randomly think of things like this, I recently heard someone being referred to as a ‘dinosaur in business’. I understood what It meant, but it got me thinking. Why did they use the term “dinosaur” as a professional insult, what was so bad about the dinosaurs? What did a dinosaur ever do to them? Is it because the dinosaurs represent an old time? Is it because they no longer exist?

At first I thought it was just a reference to something that was now ancient history, But it’s not as simple as that.

Bad idea!

When I think dinosaurs I think Jurassic park, a cautionary tale of bringing them back to life. By the end of the movie everyone agreed that bringing dinosaurs back was a really really bad idea.

They just didn’t fit in the modern world. The world evolved, animals evolved, we constantly adapt to our surroundings, we live in a world that demands we become more flexible so that we may adapt to our environment. Failure to adapt guarantees one thing, you cease to exist.

Dinosaurs, when brought to this age, wreak havoc and chaos in society. We see them as big beings with limited movement. In a world dominated by lean culture, they don’t fit.

In business, as in any environment, there are dinosaurs. Somebody doesn’t have to be old to be a dinosaur, or have even spent a long time with little movement. To be a dinosaur, they need to be big (in their position), and move slowly (can’t keep up with the competition), be stubborn and unwilling to adapt, amongst other things. This is enough for them to be classed a dinosaur.

Deal with it

A dinosaur in present time, would play it in a few different ways.

Scenario 1

It’s angry, hungry, confused about the new unfamiliar sorroundings, so it destroys everything.

Solution? Put it down, let us all focus on rebuilding instead of worrying about more damage.

Scenario 2

They don’t mess with us, we don’t mess with them. But they’re a burden, we need to keep them out of our way, keep them fed, and just accept it.

Solution? Put it down, let us get on with better things than looking after it.

Scenario 3

They try to get involved but can’t, they try to function in present times, without evolving. Instead causing more destruction in their path without knowing.

Solution? Set them free, move them where they can’t destroy things. Which turns them in to scenario 2, so we end up putting them down.

Dinosaur killer

The solutions to each of these scenarios do seem harsh, but they’re needed for survival. This also serves as a stark reminder to myself, how do I make sure I don’t become a dinosaur? I don’t want to be put down!

I guess all I can do is stay focused, stay alert to changes, adapt, and most of all, admit when I’m the problem, fix the problem, or be gone.

Let’s not bring back the dinosaur, if they’re a few lurking around, put them down. For their own sake, and for ours. Evolve or die.

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