Selecting the CEO

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you." The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure. Six months went by - still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however he just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be HONEST about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.

He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful - in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him! When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!" All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure! maybe he will have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed - Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Jim!" Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow his seed. "How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!"

*****

~ If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
~ If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
~ If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
~ If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
~ If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
~ If you plant hard work, you will reap success
~ If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
~ If you plant faith in God , you will reap a harvest

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later..
"Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back"
*****

Original Source : Unknown
Original Author : Unknown
Contributed By : Sandra Fernandes

Juggling 5 Balls

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(Inspiring 30 second speech by Bryan Dyson - Former CEO of COCA COLA)

Imagine 'LIFE' as a game in which you are JUGGLING 5 BALLS in the air. They are WORK, FAMILY, HEALTH, FRIENDS and SPIRIT and you're keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand WORK is a RUBBER ball. If your drop it, it will bounce back. But the other 4 Balls - FAMILY, HEALTH, FRIENDS and SPIRIT are made of GLASS...

If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even SHATTERED. They will NEVER Be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life.
~

ATTITUDE Application

ATTITUDE Application

1 - I will NEVER GIVE UP so long as I know I am RIGHT.
2 - I will BELIEVE that all things will work out for me if I hang on UNTIL the END.
3 - I will be COURAGEOUS and UNDISMAYED in the face of ODDS.
4 - I will NOT PERMIT anyone to intimidate me or deter me from my GOALS.
5 - I will FIGHT to overcome all physical handicaps and SETBACKS.
6 - I wil try AGAIN and AGAIN and yet again to accomplish what I DESIRE.
7 - I will NEVER SURRENDER to discouragement or despair no matter what seeming OBSTACLES may confront me.

* Original Source : Unknown

The Triple H factor..... (For Corporate/Business Trainers)

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Physics Teacher : "Isaac Newton was sitting under a tree when an apple fell on his head and he discovered gravity...! Isn't that wonderful?"
Student : "Yes sir, if he had been sitting in class looking at books like us, he wouldn't have discovered anything."
~

Among the many characteristics that a TRAINER needs to possess, the following, if naturally displayed, will ensure a positive response by the participants (trainees/delegates) attending the program. They are...

H - Humility
H - Honesty
H - Humour (Humor)

HUMILITY : The more humble a trainer is, the more 'APPROACHABLE' will he/she be perceived to be by his/her participants thus reflecting a positive opinion about himself/herself. There are participants who are passive in their interaction during the training program, this deficiency of theirs unfortunately leads them in giving a negative feedback on the trainer's effectiveness. Hence if a trainer, can go that extra mile and display humility, he will ensure participants open-up and engage easily in a discussion. In addition to skills of effectively handling questions by participants this characteristic also ensures that the trainer is not targeted unnecessarily by difficult participants during the program.


HONESTY :
Q : What is it that trainers know, that they need not know?
A : They need not know "EVERYTHING".

Sometimes, in preparation of a training program, a trainer PRESUMES he needs to readily have a solution for every unexpected query from a participant. NOT TRUE. Remember as a trainer, each program you lead or conduct, is a learning for you too. Its absolutely fair to be HONEST of something that you don’t know or didn’t know about. In such a situation the ability to pick up something relevant from a participants experience/view and incorporate the same in your subsequent training programs is a required skill for any modern trainer.

HUMOUR :
Everybody has experienced trainers having great knowledge on the topic, and handling queries effectively, hence meeting the main objective of any training program i.e ensuring knowledge is imparted to the participants. That being true, today maintaining the attention of participants throughout the program has always been a challenge for any trainer. The common solutions to this challenge is facilitating various ice-breakers or games during the entire program. In spite of that, the challenge still remains.
Thats when its necessary to trust the old saying "LAUGHTER is the BEST medicine". As much as any trainer can genuinely develop an appropriate amount of humour while delivering a training, they will definitely have the attention of the participants/delegates/trainees. Maybe its not every trainer's feature, but it can be developed gradually.

Having said that, the extreme display of any of the above 3 traits by a trainer, can also be a disadvantage. Hence knowing the appropriate level is also essential. So next time you walk into a program please check list your ability as a 'Triple H' Trainer.

Happy Training....!