Inspirational
Reading
Another
beauty from Steve Goodier...
MOTIVATING OTHERS
There was once a small boy who
banged a drum all day and loved every
moment of it. He would not be
quiet, no matter what anyone else said
or did. Various attempts were
made to do something about the child.
One person told the boy that he
would, if he continued to make so much
noise, perforate his eardrums.
This reasoning was too advanced for the
child, who was neither a
scientist nor a scholar.
A second person told him that
drum beating was a sacred activity and
should be carried out only on
special occasions. The third person
offered the neighbors plugs for
their ears; a fourth gave the boy a
book; a fifth gave the neighbors
books that described a method of
controlling anger through
biofeedback; a sixth person gave the boy
meditation exercises to make him
placid and docile. None of these
attempts worked.
Eventually, a wise person came
along with an effective motivation. He
looked at the situation, handed
the child a hammer and chisel, and
asked, "I wonder what is INSIDE
the drum?"
No more problem.
Good leaders know how to
motivate others. They pique their curiosity
and tickle their sense of
wonder. They teach them to dream and tempt
them to do more than they ever
thought possible. They challenge them
to be a part of something great.
Pilot and author Antoine de
Saint-Exupery said, "If you want to build
a ship, don't drum up the men to
gather wood, divide the work, and
give orders. Instead, teach them
to yearn for the vast and endless
sea."
Do that and there will be no
limit to the wondrous places they can
travel.
Visit Steve's website at www.lifesupportsystems.com
