Why Proactively loves the red squirrel

I have been searching for a way to make H&S ‘engaging’. What I am really looking for is the way to present the subject in a positive, interesting and memorable way that draws people in, wanting to find out more. This is what branding is all about.

There have been many H&S articles that argue branding is not important, it is the substance that counts. Of course, substance is key, but no-one is going to be enthusiastic if you are asking them to do boring, bureaucratic things. Perception is important too.

What is the essence of Proactively? (in a nutshell) – it prepares for the future, gathering information and taking action before there is a problem. And it does all this in a ‘fun’ way.

If we are looking for an animal to associate with this, what would you go for? I think I have already given the game away.

My first thought was ‘squirrel’.

The 2 things that spring to mind are: collecting nuts for the winter – how proactive is that? Are they prompting us to think about actions we need to take?

The agility, determination and ingenuity that they show in you tube videos where there is an obstacle course to get across before you get the treat (usually nuts in a bird feeder, easier than collecting your own). How far would you go to get the actions that are needed?

Then I looked on ‘symbolism’ sites to find out more… Did you know:

The squirrel only finds 10% of the nuts that he hides. This teaches us that overpreparing does not work? However, the nuts he leaves are all primed ready to grow, producing a new generation of trees. ‘what we sow is what we reap’ This could mean if we ignore problems, they may come back to bite us.

They are very sociable animals, full of fun, and you can often hear them ‘talking’ to each other. This can be reminding us the importance of communicating, sharing what we have learnt. Others can benefit.

So, let’s hope we get some good actions and not just a collection of nuts!