Quick - which matters more? Saving a particular stick insect from extinction or preserving giant pandas?

There are no good answers to this question- extinction is extinction for whichever species. But many of us may shed a few more tears for the panda than for a "bug". After all, the panda is cute, friendly and generally seems nice. The fact that pandas do little besides eat and sleep while the stick insect probably "works" much harder does not make a lot of difference to our decision.

We encounter this situation at work too. It is something our Book Review on Influence told us: we like charismatic people, so charismatic people and their glamorous projects tend to get more attention and higher priority.

So what should we do? We should immediately turn ourselves into giant pandas, of course.

Using the Influence tools from the Book Review and Bell Labs tools from our Product Comparison, we will see that if we managed to cultivate the right skills, we too can be like the giant panda. But let’s see what’s so special about the giant panda first:

• Pandas are scarce, only a few left
  We need to make sure our knowledge is a scarce commodity, so that means learning more about different things, see the big picture and link up the different streams into a unique package (Authority, Scarcity, Organisational Savvy, Perspective).
  
• Pandas look unflappable and seem not particularly worried about anything
  We need to cultivate a "cool" persona. One that never appears to be in a flap. How? By thinking through our projects and planning for contingencies, we are unlikely to be caught out. Appearing confident and measured in our response and not making statements that cannot be backed up with facts. (Commitment and Consistency, Authority, Self Management).
  
• Pandas seem to eat and sleep a lot
  We need to develop a habit of gathering information (eat) and then making sense of them by carefully thinking through the ideas and concepts (sleep on it) (Commitment and Consistency, Learning and Reasoning, Technical Competence).
  
• Pandas look friendly
  We can adopt a friendly and open manner at work with our colleagues and use that as a basis to build our network (Social Proof, Networking).
  
• Pandas make people smile
  We can offer people something they did not expect now and again (Reciprocation)
  
• Pandas have black eyes, arms and legs
  We too can cultivate a distinctive and positive persona. For example: smile at people, say thank you and really mean it (Commitment and Consistency, Liking, Show and Tell).
  
• Pandas don’t have much of a sex life
  Hey! We don’t believe in blindly following style icons, no matter how glamorous! Similarly, not every tool is relevant all the time!

Does this means that the Panda Style of Management is the next great management idea? Don’t forget, you read it here first!