The Shark Tooth
For the last 10 years or so, I’ve been on a mission to achieve what could be deemed the world’s most trivial life quest: to find a shark tooth on the beach. Why I’ve chosen this for myself is beyond comprehension, but every time I’m near the coast, I am called to sift the sands for hours in search of my elusive treasure.
For years, I came up completely empty-handed. Not wanting to leave my life quest up to chance, I finally started to do some research. The top tips? Go to a beach known for shark teeth. Look for shiny black triangles on the sand. Use a sifter to quickly sort through shells.
Equipped with this newfound knowledge, I finally achieved my goal last year after facilitating a leadership retreat in Tampa for a wonderful group of nonprofit leaders. I drove an hour south to Caspersen Beach, dubbed “The Shark Tooth Capital of the World.” After combing the beach for an hour, there it was. In a pile of shells were not one, but two fossilized shark teeth.
In July this year, I returned to Tampa to lead the same retreat. The next day, I drove down to Caspersen Beach to see if I could repeat my success. After two hours of searching in vain in the sweltering sun, I decided to change locations. I drove 10 minutes north to another beach and plopped down in a strand of seashells a few feet from the water’s edge. I raked my fingers through the pile, and almost immediately grasped a long, curved sand tiger shark’s tooth. The next one appeared not even a minute later. Within five minutes, I’d found as many teeth. When I left an hour later, I had twenty nestled in my pocket.
As I drove back to the airport later that afternoon, I reflected on what seemed rather obvious in retrospect. When success comes easily, it’s often because we are in the right environment. The conditions allow something wonderful to emerge. This is what I like to think of as “environmental abundance.”
By contrast, when we’re struggling, it’s not always a reflection of our skill or motivation. Instead, it might be a sign we’ve applied our efforts in the wrong place or at the wrong time, where we lack sufficient resources or support.
This is one reason I’m passionate about helping leaders and teams notice and tend to the environment in their workplaces. When we have a solid structure and supportive culture, success is much easier to come by. If these things are missing, more than not we’ll leave empty-handed.
