Sunday 11 October 2015

A story to be told ..and retold...!! The seeds of success and failure

A successful businessman 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, all the 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 the pot and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the seed to grow.

The year finally came to a close and the young executives were asked to bring 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 looking very sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. "Wow, 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, and 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. He couldn’t understand what was going on. For a moment he thought a joke was being played on him.

"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 and I told you to take the seed home, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But what you didn't know was 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, all well cared for. and of considerable beauty.

But what you did when you found that the seed I gave you would not grow was, you substituted it with another seed. 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
www.island.lk 

Quote for the day

“You must have the discipline and temperament to resist your impulses. Human beings have precisely the wrong instincts when it comes to the markets. If you recognize this, you can resist the urge to buy into a rally and sell into a decline.” - Irving Kahn