PRESENCE OF MIND

Leaders must be resourceful, cool when the unexpected occurs, able to think on their feet, and get things back on track when plans go awry. This Christmas story illustrates the point.

A little boy had aspirations to be cast as Joseph in the school Nativity play, but he lost out to a classmate. The teacher in charge gave him the minor role of the innkeeper instead, and he was bitterly disappointed. During the rehearsals, he brooded and thought only of revenge.

CORRECTION

Once upon a time there was an inn called THE SILVER STAR. The innkeeper was unable to make both ends meet even though he did his very best to draw customers by making the inn comfortable, the service cordial and the prices reasonable. So in despair he consulted a Sage.

After listening to his tale of woe the Sage said, “It is very simple. You must change the name of your inn.”

“Impossible!” said the innkeeper. “It has been THE SILVER STAR for generations and is well known all over the country.”

“No,” said the Sage firmly, “You must now call it THE FIVE BELLS and have a row of six bells hanging at the entrance.”

“Six bells? But that’s absurd. What good would that do?”

“Give it a try and see,” said the Sage with a smile.

Well, the innkeeper gave it a try. And this is what he saw. Every traveller who passed by the inn walked in to point out the mistake, each one believing that no one else had noticed it. Once inside, they were impressed by the cordiality of the service and stayed on to refresh themselves, thereby providing the innkeeper with the fortune that he had been seeking in vain for so long.

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There are few things the ego delights in more than correcting other people’s mistakes.