Sunday, May 5, 2013

MANAGEMENT LESSONS NOT TAUGHT IN SCHOOLS



We have heard of Aesop’s fables where most of the characters in his stories are animals, some of which take on human characteristic and are personified in the ways of speech and emotions. The majority of his characters retain their animalistic qualities; tortoise is slow, hares are quick, tigers eat bird, etc. Aesop used these qualities and natural tendencies of animals to focus on human traits and wisdom. The most important thing to be noted is that each tale or fable has an accompanying moral to be learned from the tale. Aesop was a story teller and a slave from ancient Greece. Aesop was known to be a keen observer of both animals and people.
Life is full of chances to learn new things day after day. Sometimes we need an interest and sometimes an attitude to learn the right thing. In management, the learning is more important than the way of learning. That is why there are role plays, games and stories to make people learn the obvious and the important.
What follows is a bunch of short stories and the lessons to be learnt from them. It’s a collection of assorted humorous stories to be read in the right spirit. The lesson is the end and the means are not important. We should not get deep into the story and concentrate on the Lesson that we learn out of them.


  1. YOUR POSITION DEFINES YOUR ATTITUDE
A crow was sitting on a tree, doing nothing all day. A small rabbit saw the crow and asked, ‘Can I also sit like you and do nothing all day long?’ The crow answered: ‘sure why not.’ So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the crow and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.
Lesson: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be at the top. 
    
If one has to reach the top he has to put in enormous effort and stretch himself over and above what he can do and be focused and be passionate about what he is doing. This will take time and effort and thereafter after some point one reaches the top. By now he is thorough with the understanding of the organization and the environment he is working with and also gets to know the people around him.

After one reaches the Top slot he will not do any work by himself but will think, think and Think all the time and also Take Decisions which will cost the organization heavily if any wrong decision is taken.  

By nothing is meant less or no physical work and more of work in the mind. 


  1. YOUR POSITION DEPENDS ON YOUR PERFORMANCE
A turkey was chatting with a bull. ‘I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree,’ sighed the turkey, ‘but I haven’t got the energy’. ‘Well, why don’t you nibble on some of my droppings?’ replied the bull, ‘They’re packed with nutrients.’ The turkey pecked at a lump of dung and found that it actually gave him enough strength to reach the first branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, it reached the second branch. Finally, after a fortnight, there it was proudly perched at the top of the tree. The turkey was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot the turkey out of the tree.
Lesson: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won’t keep you there.


  1. BE SMART AND ACT SMART TO SURVIVE
A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold that the bird froze and fell to the ground in a large field. While it was lying there, a cow came by and dropped a load of hot, steaming dung on it. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of shit, it began to realise how warm it was. The dung actually thawed it out! It lay there all warm and happy and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung. The cat promptly dug the bird out, and ate the bird.

Moral or Lesson: Not everyone who drops shit on you is your enemy. Not everyone who pulls you out of shit is your friend. And when you’re warm and happy in your pile of shit, keep your mouth shut! If you don’t, you have to face the consequences.


  1. INSTANT GRATIFICATION WILL LEAD YOU NOWHERE

A sales executive, a clerk, and a manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, ‘I’ll give each of you just one wish.’ ‘Me first! Me first!’ says the admin clerk. ‘I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world.’ Puff! She’s gone. ‘Me next! Me next!’ says the sales rep. ‘I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina coladas and the love of my life. Puff! He’s gone. ‘OK, you’re up,’ the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, ‘I want those two idiots back in the office after lunch.’ 

Lesson: Always let your boss have the first say.          

Smile and keep finding good and smart ways to enhance your learning. Remember, end is important than the means. You can also read stories from Panchatantra which gives morals at the end of each story. Here too animal characters are portrayed and the purpose of the dialogue among the various animal characters is to place the respective human point of view in perspective. The greatest importance in Panchatantra is given to Dharma or righteousness.
In Panchatantra even the villains in the drama mouth time-tested truths to justify their case, as if to state that truth can be used by just about anyone, though it does not become untruth for that reason. For, as the Panchatantra says, “rascals, for their own personal benefit, show the master things in a false light and speak with great powers of persuasion.” It is for the hearer to discern the truth.

Be blissful.

S.SEKAR

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