27th October 2025
One of the key things we look for when receruiting a team member is Presence of mind – the ability to remain calm, stay aware, and act quickly and sensibly in a difficult or emergency situation.
It is the capacity to speak or act appropriately in an emergency, such as a bank teller pressing the alarm when gunmen enter, or a bus driver accelerating to evade gunmen.
Presence of mind reflects a meta-capability: the ability to learn, adapt, and apply judgment across varied and changing circumstances.
It’s what enables professionals to step into novel situations and not just survive but thrive.
An old fable best illustrates this quality.
A dog became lost in a jungle. Wandering around, the poor dog notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.
Just then, the dog noticed some bones lying on the ground close by. The dog immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching leopard. Just as the jungle cat is about to leap, the dog loudly says, “My, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?”
Hearing this, the leopard slinks away. “That was too close,” thought the leopard, “that dog nearly had me.”
Meanwhile, a mischevious monkey had observed the entire scene, and decided to cause trouble for the dog, while getting on the good side of the leopard as well. The monkey dashed off after the leopard, to tell him what truly happened.
The dog saw the monkey dash off, and suspiciously tailed him from behind. He overhears the monkey spilling the beans, and quickly decides on a course of action, racing back to the pile of bones.
At the same time, the leopard has decided to take care of the dog once and for all. The monkey hops on the leopard’s back, to watch the demise of the doomed dog.
As the leopard approaches, he hears the dog talking to himself: “Where’s that lazy monkey? I sent him off half an hour ago for another leopard, and he’s still not back!”
And the leopard hearing that slinks away once again never to disturb the dog again.
Presence of mind can get you out of the most difficult situations.
Keep your cool, think calmly & Stay blessed forever!