Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business & Live

Stefan Swanepoel helps readers identify which unique skills they possess through a fable that takes place in the African Serengeti. The fable revolves around the personal struggles of Sean and Ashley, a married couple who come to Africa and meet others who are struggling just as they are, but in different ways.

Through exploring the surrounding landscape, witnessing the great migration of animals, and listening to a guide and friend's insights on animals, each person on safari discovers their unique strengths or skills related to one of seven animals:

• Wildebeest: Endurance
• Lion: Strategy
• Crocodile: Enterprising
• Cheetah: Efficiency
• Giraffe: Grace
• Mongoose: Risk Taking
• Elephant: Communication

A skills summary at the end of each chapter gives insight on how to utilize the skill sets of each, and how to maximize the skill in everyday life and in business. A unique book on how to identify a skill set, it also offers tips on how to identify which one you are.

I liked that it shows obstacles for some traits, and how to overcome them. The fictional story set in the heart of Africa doesn't make the book seem like a business goals or personal growth book, and makes the skillsets more tangible with examples. Recommended reading for both personal and business use in developing skillsets.

Book Information:

• Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business and Live; by Stefan Swanepoel
• John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2011
• ISBN13: 9780470947807
• Hardcover, jacket; 176 pages

Disclosure: This book was provided by the author and any opinions are my own.