While in Charleston on a market immersion, we visited the Savannah Bee Company, a store inspired by honeybees. The store’s signage and tee-shirts celebrate the honeybee’s contribution to society and nature. Honeybees provide a great example of how to create a strong network. They communicate with each other, collaborate, help others, and play to their strengths to ensure the survival and success of the hive.
Bee Social
Like humans, honeybees are social creatures. Their hives are as big as mid-size cities, with populations of 25,000-85,000. Every bee plays a role designed based on its strengths. All of the bees work together for a common goal.
Learn from Mentors
Honeybees aren’t born with a natural ability to collect and make honey. The older, more experienced bees teach the younger bees how to do it. The younger bees and older bees share a mutual respect, not unlike boomers and millennials, both gaining from being around each other.
Work hard for the honey
Honeybees work hard to create their product. It takes about two million flowers and 50,000 miles of flying to make a pound of honey.
Add Value
Without the bees’ pollination work, most plants would die out. There would be no cucumbers, no almonds, and no alfalfa without honeybees, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. And, honeybees boost production of strawberries, sunflowers, and chestnuts. Somewhere between a third and two thirds of crops rely to some extent on bees. In addition, bee products have been used in many areas of health, from therapy for arthritis to antibiotic treatment.
One final lesson from the hive: enjoy the journey together.
