For anyone who knows me, they always comment on the tiger themed collection surrounding my desk at work or at home.  Yes, tigers are one of my favourite animals, I actively support wild tiger conservation and funnily enough, I was also born in the Year of the Tiger.  But, my interest in tigers is only the partial reason behind the name ‘Tigera’.

A photo of me with my favourite animal.

‘Tigera’ is a name I created because of a book that has inspired me. When I was embarking on my career in information technology in 1998, I was drawn to a book by John P Imlay Jr. called “Jungle Rules: How to be a tiger in business”.

Jungle Rules is the true story of a technology company that was on the brink of bankrupcy. The managers (one of them being Imlay) transformed the company into the world’s largest independant company of its kind  by developing its people or the ‘tigers’ they employed. I throughly enjoyed this book and its focus on developing the ‘tiger’ within yourself and recognising these traits of success within the team members you work with.

But just what is a ‘tiger’ person?.   Imlay’s definition of a ‘tiger’ person is largely a metaphor used to describe the personality traits and motivations of successful employees within the in the workplace.  Imlay succinctly characterises a ‘tiger’  person in the following passage quoted directly from his book:

Meet the Tiger
“A Tiger is one who attacks a job with both zeal and impatience; who recognises that productivity has dimensions of both quality and quantity; who despises shoddy performance and is intolerant of mediocrity.

Being a Tiger does not mean having a degree or taking prescribed courses or have a certain amount of professional experience, though it does embrace some of these elements. In is a way of life, a lifetime of study, a state of mind, and a relentless drive for excellence.

Being a Tiger means being extremely proficient in a specific field, being interested in the job, willing to learn about it, study it, and grow with it. The Tiger is not only a specialist, but a generalist who understands an organisations overall objectives.

The Tiger may be hard to manage and will not be fazed by “but that’s the way we do things” or “that’s the type of organisation we are”… The Tiger will ask “Why?” and expect to grow, but only through exceptional performance. The motivations of that person are objectives, goals and accomplishments. A Tiger makes a great manager. A Tiger gets things done.

Congratulate the company that has several; pity the organisation that has none. If you find a company with a full complement of Tigers, become part of it. It is a priceless experience! May top management have the wisdom to save the Tigers. They will certainly save us”

Imlay used to distribute this passage to his employees for years to motivate them towards success.  Jungle Rules and the story of the “tigers” has certainly influenced the manner in which I approach aspects of my career and in some circumstances, my personal life. I enjoy ‘stalking & capturing my success’.   Hopefully my blog posts will encourage others to begin ‘stalking success’ as well.  :)