Little Notes

Here's a story John C. Maxwell published in his book, Winning With People:

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees longitude."

"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.

"I am," replied the woman. "How did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is, I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip."

The woman below responded, "You must be in management."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"

"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You have made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is, you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, you've managed to make it my fault."

Ah-ha. Got the joke?

There are two messages that are conveyed:
1. People in power tend to forget that it's the people below them who make all the difference within an organization. The more they mess up their relations with their employees, the more likely they are to suffer setbacks and failures.

2. If you are having a difficult time with agreeing on something with someone, then you should stop looking at it your way. Instead, look at it their way. You might just see it'll work out alright!

Remember these lessons, and you can go places easily, unlike the corporate balloonist in the above story.

Cheers!