Q: Survival is Job One for a lot of people and businesses right now. Was it the economy that prompted you to write a book?

A: Partly. But there have always been challenges for companies and individuals to overcome. Whether it's looking for a job after a long period of being unemployed, or struggling to keep a job while balancing more projects with fewer colleagues to help you juggle the load, or trying to keep your company alive through the recession or dealing with challenges in your personal life... each of has a unique “Serengeti” that we need to survive in.

Q: You outline seven skills, as portrayed by the animals of the Serengeti. What are they?

A: They are the Strategic Lion, the Enterprising Crocodile, the Efficient Cheetah, the Enduring Wildebeest, the Risk-Taking Mongoose, the Communicating Elephant and the Graceful Giraffe.

Q: I happen to be an Enterprising Crocodile, by the way. Is there any one animal or one skill that seems to prevail over the others, or do all skills hold equal value? Does each person possess all seven skills, or do they possess only one?

A: No one skill is any more important than the others; in fact, each of these skills is essential in business and in life in general. What is important is that you realize which skill you instinctively turn to when facing a challenge. Which one skill is your instinctive survival skill that you’re hardwired with, and work to hone that skill to improve your chances for success.

We are multi-faceted humans with multiple talents and skills. So while we are not limited to just one “Serengeti” skill, there is one skill that is the most dominant in each of us. Your task is to identify that innate skill that makes you, you!

Q: How do you advise business people to best leverage their instinctive skill?

A: Understand the singular innate skill that makes you who you are. Make sure you know and understand whom the other “animals” in your urban jungle are and what their skills are.

For example, if someone discovers they are a wildebeest, the discussion can start with focusing on that person’s ability to endure more than the average person, his willingness to be tenacious and never give up and his aptitude to stay the course and make sure projects get finished, while others may already be wandering off to greener pastures.

This doesn’t make the wildebeest better than anyone else on the team, but makes him a valuable asset to the team. Knowing that your colleague is tenacious will enable you to have a better understanding of some of his decisions and input and will most likely foster a deeper appreciation for what he brings to the table. That applies to every animal and every skill set.

There are obviously hundreds of ways to discover and exploit your key strengths, but Surviving Your Serengeti is definitely one of more fun ones. I often ask people in my creativity workshops to introduce themselves in unique ways—as a car part or as an animal that best represents who they are—

so I am partial these sorts of comparisons and metaphors that get us thinking differently, and hopefully more creatively, about ourselves and our abilities.