Yes it was not your job! You thought
it was somebody-else job. You were too thoughtless to realize that nobody was
doing what somebody could have done. What a failure mentality.
A famous CEO needed a deputy,
he had three of his most competent staff on the shortlist but how was he going
to make a final choice from the three? Each of them could do the job
excellently and so he decided to put them to a test. He wrote an appointment letter,
tied it up in a plastic bag with a stone in side then dropped it to the bottom
of a bucket filled with some stale and extraordinarily stinking water.
He placed the bucket at a corner
in the room in which his shortlisted staff worked and sent all the janitors on
a holiday. That bucket was there for three days and none of the guys touched
it. They knew something terribly smelled but did nothing. Let’s take a closer
look at the three men.
James is that kind of a guy who
thinks the world should bow down before him because he is indispensable in a
prestigious company and exceptionally gifted. He does just what he is told and
excellently – a quality that has saved him from trouble each time he steps on
people’s toes.
Jude on the other hand, has the
same traits with James except for not being too boastful. Even though his is a
high performer, he is equally a dedicated clock-watcher. By the time the office
clock announces the close of the day, Jude would already be at the door steps
on his way home.
Paul on his part is equally very
competent and much more, he always goes beyond himself to get those around him
satisfied. Often he would walk up to the boss to ask if there was something
more to do before retiring home. He had this special touch and the fact that he
added a little icing on the cake made him to win the love of many admirers.
On the fifth day, the room had
gotten really stuffy and unbearable. The bucket of stale waster still stood at
the same position where the CEO left it. The three had been complaining,
cursing but nobody took the pains to find out what was happening. Paul in his
usual proactive manner went about that morning searching the room for what
could be stinking while the others stayed aloof as usual. That’s how he came
upon the bucket. He quickly took it aside, cleaned the already unbearable room
and took the bucket outside. He threw the water and was about leaving when he
noticed a plastic bundle.
Stopping over and covering his
nose with one hand, he picked up what was going to make his day the best ever. He
untied in and read the following message “… if you are reading this note, you
have been promoted to the rank of deputy CEO of Athanasius Oil Investments. Meet
the CEO for your new directives.”
This is the point, until you
learn to do much more than you are paid to do, real achievements will keep on
distancing themselves from you. Paul had developed the habit of doing much more
than he was paid for and it paid him off. Not only did he become the boss to
his two former mates, he was now winning and dining with the top brass of his
company and the executive world at large.
His two colleagues combed the
office for the next couple of months hunting for their own pot of gold but
unfortunately for them, the rains had stopped and the rainbow was gone.
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