Umwelt (oom-velt) refers to an organism’s self-life. It’s the opposite of anthropomorphism, in that we try to understand an animal’s personal point of view, rather than assigning it human points of view. Or as John Muir once explained, when asked why something as dreadful as poison ivy was even created, “Perhaps it was made for itself.” There is an umwelt in our business and social dealings which, if understood, can lead to far greater success. We tend to assign our own traits, prefere…

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