The Emperor’s New Woes

Once upon a time there was an emperor who had fallen into some troubling times. While his kingdom consisted of a vast amount of land, the land being cultivated for food was limited. Much of his kingdom was surrounded by mountains and another portion consisted of swamp land. The crops of potatoes, corn, soy beans, wheat and barley had been affected by a summer drought. The Emperor was very worried that the acreage cultivated would not produce the expected harvest needed for all the people in his kingdom.

The Emperor called together his trusted advisors and told them to think about ways to resolve the impending food shortage. The advisors suggested several things. First, they would have to take stock of what food they had, and then they took inventory of other goods that may be of potential value in trade with the other nearby kingdoms. Lastly, they began to identify individual home vegetable gardens across the kingdom as other potential food sources and they defined what sort of portions could be considered reasonable rations in order to get the kingdom through the long winter months ahead.

It was determined that it was not too late to try to plant rice crops near the swamp and begin to let sheep and goats graze on the foothills alongside the mountains. The goats could produce milk and the sheep’s wool would produce yarn for clothing and threads for sewing. After considerable plans were outlined, and the various groups understood their goals, the emperor became less worried as he saw how resourceful the people of his kingdom could be when it came to creating a solution.

He thanked his trusted advisors for coming up with such a worthwhile plan and most of all he thanked the people for their cooperation in coming to a suitable solution. The people loved him for it.

The Moral of the fable: When your worries make you full of woe, share your worries with everyone you know. As it is better to be prepared and have a plan, than it is to turn a blind eye and lose your fans.

NOTE: In the business world there are plenty of areas where the best laid plans fall short due to some unexpected circumstance. Performance translates into success only when the plans are revisited with participation by everyone who has a vested interest.