Jamie’s Fables: The Peacock and the Thorn
Those of you who have followed me for some time know that I like Aesop’s Fables. They are great ways of encapsulating lessons of life. I’ve been writing on how these lessons apply to lean transformation. You can see all of these examples here.
I decided instead of just borrowing from Aesop’s efforts, I should make a contribution myself. So here is the first installment of Jamie’s Fables. I’m not a creative writer, but I did my best. Don’t ask me when the next installment is out.
The Peacock and the Thorn
A proud peacock was strutting down the path. As he did, heads turned to look at his brilliance. As he was paying attention to everyone paying attention to him, he wasn’t paying attention to the path. The Peacock stepped on a thorn, which lodged itself in his foot.
Now the Peacock found it difficult to walk. He could not strut in any way, and was embarrassed to be seen in pain or struggling. A Mouse walked by and said “hello, how are you Peacock?” The Mouse could have pulled out the thorn with its teeth. But the Peacock responded “great” and so the Mouse moved on. A Hen walked down the path and said to the Peacock “hello, how are you?” The Hen could have plucked out the thorn with its beak. But the Peacock responded “wonderful”, embarrassed at his situation, and so the Hen moved on.
Suddenly, a Tiger appears around the bend of the path. The Tiger stops, expecting the Peacock to run off. But the Peacock cannot run with the thorn in his foot. The Tiger, seeing the Peacock unable to escape, chases him down and kills the Peacock.
Moral: A problem left unexposed cannot be resolved.
Artwork by my daughter Emma:
What can we learn from The Peacock and the Thorn. We shouldn’t worry about how we look while doing the right thing. Too much emphasis is placed on how things look – and I don’t mean our physical appearances. We worry about the words, the impressions. These matter, but only as they impact the end result. When we elevate these above the end results, organizations fall into stasis and no progress is made at all.
We can’t make progress on problems that are not visible. We must expose our problems, however ugly they might be, whether they be organizational problems, or our personal gaps and challenges. Perfection is not problem free.
Feedback on my first effort is welcome.
Nice story, lesson and art work (You go, Emma!).
I was just thinking of an A3 a manager I work with completed earlier today and how it didn’t look too pretty on paper, but he and the team wound up saving $25k on purchasing extra computers simply by rearranging work flow to create greater access to them for the users.
Point well-taken.
Nice story, lesson and art work (You go, Emma!).
I was just thinking of an A3 a manager I work with completed earlier today and how it didn’t look too pretty on paper, but he and the team wound up saving $25k on purchasing extra computers simply by rearranging work flow to create greater access to them for the users.
Point well-taken.
Nice story, lesson and art work (You go, Emma!).
I was just thinking of an A3 a manager I work with completed earlier today and how it didn’t look too pretty on paper, but he and the team wound up saving $25k on purchasing extra computers simply by rearranging work flow to create greater access to them for the users.
Point well-taken.
Great first fable, Jamie! When does your new book hit the stands?! And love Emma’s artwork – hope she’s doing well…
The lesson is so true – worrying about how we look or how things will be taken when we’re embarking on the “right thing” are difficult hurdles to overcome. This is why it is so essential for the leaders to be out front as role models and lead by example through humility and the creation of a safe environment for experimentation.
Great first fable, Jamie! When does your new book hit the stands?! And love Emma’s artwork – hope she’s doing well…
The lesson is so true – worrying about how we look or how things will be taken when we’re embarking on the “right thing” are difficult hurdles to overcome. This is why it is so essential for the leaders to be out front as role models and lead by example through humility and the creation of a safe environment for experimentation.
Great first fable, Jamie! When does your new book hit the stands?! And love Emma’s artwork – hope she’s doing well…
The lesson is so true – worrying about how we look or how things will be taken when we’re embarking on the “right thing” are difficult hurdles to overcome. This is why it is so essential for the leaders to be out front as role models and lead by example through humility and the creation of a safe environment for experimentation.
The fable was great. But I really like Emma’s drawing. She did a wonderful job.
The fable was great. But I really like Emma’s drawing. She did a wonderful job.
The fable was great. But I really like Emma’s drawing. She did a wonderful job.
The editor in me says, “Hens don’t have teeth.” As the saying goes, “rare as hen’s teeth.” Command and control peacocks are far from rare, unfortunately, although there’s reportedly less tolerance for such leaders with younger generations. Apt quote that appeared in my in-box yesterday: “It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously.”–Peter Ustinov, British actor and writer
The editor in me says, “Hens don’t have teeth.” As the saying goes, “rare as hen’s teeth.” Command and control peacocks are far from rare, unfortunately, although there’s reportedly less tolerance for such leaders with younger generations. Apt quote that appeared in my in-box yesterday: “It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously.”–Peter Ustinov, British actor and writer
The editor in me says, “Hens don’t have teeth.” As the saying goes, “rare as hen’s teeth.” Command and control peacocks are far from rare, unfortunately, although there’s reportedly less tolerance for such leaders with younger generations. Apt quote that appeared in my in-box yesterday: “It is our responsibilities, not ourselves, that we should take seriously.”–Peter Ustinov, British actor and writer
David, I though we caught that in editing, but it’s corrected now.
David, I though we caught that in editing, but it’s corrected now.
David, I though we caught that in editing, but it’s corrected now.