2 Stories and 1 lesson for Tough Times
Story #1
“Would you be willing to donate money to help a poor widow?” a stranger asked me. “She has two kids and just lost her job. And she is about to be thrown out of her apartment unless she can raise $475 for rent.”
“That’s awfully nice of you,” I replied. “You must be a very caring friend to be raising money for her like this.”
“Not really,” he said. “I’m her landlord.”
Story #2
A man purchased a parrot. On the third day of owning the bird the parrot became listless and quit talking.
The man went back to the pet store where he bought the parrot and asked the store owner what he should do. The store owner sold him a toy to stimulate the parrot’s attention. Still no improvement. Over the next few days the parrot’s owner bought other toys hoping to revive the parrot’s interest, but the parrot kept getting more listless.
Finally on the seventh day, the parrot lay feebly on his back, and weakly asked, “Don’t they sell birdseed at that store?”
1 Lesson:
Like the widow’s landlord, many business owners are looking for answers to their problems. Like the man who bought the parrot, you can overlook the best solutions to problems. Where do you find these solutions? From your employees and customers. Ask them, they’ll tell you from their perspective what your business can do.
“Would you be willing to donate money to help a poor widow?” a stranger asked me. “She has two kids and just lost her job. And she is about to be thrown out of her apartment unless she can raise $475 for rent.”
“That’s awfully nice of you,” I replied. “You must be a very caring friend to be raising money for her like this.”
“Not really,” he said. “I’m her landlord.”
Story #2
A man purchased a parrot. On the third day of owning the bird the parrot became listless and quit talking.
The man went back to the pet store where he bought the parrot and asked the store owner what he should do. The store owner sold him a toy to stimulate the parrot’s attention. Still no improvement. Over the next few days the parrot’s owner bought other toys hoping to revive the parrot’s interest, but the parrot kept getting more listless.
Finally on the seventh day, the parrot lay feebly on his back, and weakly asked, “Don’t they sell birdseed at that store?”
1 Lesson:
Like the widow’s landlord, many business owners are looking for answers to their problems. Like the man who bought the parrot, you can overlook the best solutions to problems. Where do you find these solutions? From your employees and customers. Ask them, they’ll tell you from their perspective what your business can do.
Posted by Cal Tingey at 10/29/2011 6:06 AM 
Categories: Strategies, Economy
Tags: tough times landlord parrot finding solutions Cal Tingey Cal Tingey
Categories: Strategies, Economy
Tags: tough times landlord parrot finding solutions Cal Tingey Cal Tingey
Comments