A Tracker’s Approach to Risk

This article will reveal the mind of a man who has lived with risk for 30 years—and thrived.

Young Thabo (not his real name) stands alone in a vast stretch of Kruger National Park. The land is dry, the air still. His team has tracked a lead to this place. A hotspot. The kind of place where rhinos are killed illegally.

He scans the ground. A faint boot print in the dust. He follows. One step. Then another. He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s walking straight into an ambush.

Minutes pass. His team is gone, but he doesn’t notice. He’s locked in. The trail is everything.
Then—movement.

Men in the trees. One raises a homemade rifle. A gunshot cracks the silence. The bullet tears through a branch inches from his head. Wood splinters into his neck.

He drops. Returns fire. Later, he tells me in Shangaan, his face unreadable: “Ndzi dyondzile siku rero.” I learned something that day.

Three Pillars of a Strong Risk Mindset

Thabo is not just a survivor. He’s one of the most effective counter-poaching operatives in Kruger’s history. He tracks unseen men. He listens to birds and reads footprints like a musician reads notes. Most importantly, he makes decisions in moments that others wouldn’t make in hours.

And in all of it, there are lessons. Risk is not about control. It’s about awareness, expertise, and decisive action.

Here’s what that looks like.

• 1 Awareness (Notice It)

  The best trackers don’t just see. They notice.

  For 27 years, management moved Thabo across different habitats in Kruger. The terrain was never the same. The trees changed. The ground changed. The way the wind carried scent, the way the birds called warnings—it was all new, again and again.

  It forced him to be present. To look at what others ignore.

  The unfamiliar made him sharper. Every relocation was a reset. Every shift demanded his attention. He had to train his senses, tune in, and listen deeply.

  And in business, the landscape shifts just as quickly. New markets, new competitors, new crises. Are you listening? Are you noticing? Or are you moving blind?

What I learnt: You get Awareness when you explore the unfamiliar. When you stop thinking routinely.

• 2 Expertise (Know What It Means)

  A footprint is nothing unless you know where it leads.

  A good tracker sees a sign. A great tracker understands it.

  Over decades, Thabo learned to predict where an animal—or a poacher—would rest. His accuracy sharpened. Every mistake was a lesson and every wrong turn was studied.

  Most people hate being wrong. He doesn’t. He welcomes it. Because every error means he’s refining the skill.

  In tracking, in business, in life—you don’t have to be perfect. You just have to get better.

What I learnt: You improve your Expertise when you finally realise that your mistakes are your greatest gifts.

• 3 Decisiveness (Do Something About It)

  Risk is about timing. Wait too long, you lose the moment. Move too soon, you step into danger.

  Thabo doesn’t wait for certainty. He reads the signs and if the signals line up, he moves. He doesn’t let doubt win. He doesn’t hesitate when the path is clear.

  Decisiveness is balance. Not reckless. Not hesitant. Just a steady trust in what you know.

  Inaction is risk too. Hesitation can kill a tracker. It can kill a business. When the data is there, when the signs are clear—step forward.

What I learnt: Decisiveness is about taking action the moment the signals line up. It’s trusting what you know to be true.

Risk is Everywhere – How Will You Track It?

You don’t have to track poachers to understand this. Risk is everywhere. Business. Leadership. Life.

Survival doesn’t belong to those with the most data. It belongs to those who see what others miss, make sense of the signs, and move when the time is right.

Find the Thabo’s in your team. The ones who notice, who learn, who act. Listen to them. Empower them. And let them lead.

Contact us if would like to discuss running a 90-minute session to improve your team’s risk culture.