HARE AND TORTOISE
Here’s a story that we have read a lot of times; but try
looking at it from the survival angle in today's competitive world!
This might seem fairly obvious, yet we find it missing around
the work place. Especially in times when most people are hiding behind their
PCs.
The following story clearly addresses this lacuna &
serves as a lesson for survival in today's context.
A hare and a tortoise live in Australia. They are good
friends and like all good friends, sometimes have a dig at each other. One day,
in a light mood the hare ridiculed the tortoise for his slow pace. The tortoise
reacted by challenging the hare for a race between Hurstville to CBD. On the
appointed day and time the two assemble at the starting line and start the race.
The hare dashes off the start line like a flash. After crossing the midway mark,
he feels that a short nap would do no harm. The short nap turned out to be a bit
too long. Meanwhile the tortoise crosses the hare and reaches the destination.
The hare wakes from the slumber, oblivious of the time, and dashes off towards
the finish. To his dismay he finds the tortoise having a nap at the finish line.
The
moral of the story is "Slow and steady wins the race."
The
story does not end here...
The hare goes home and soon understands that complacency and
overconfidence were the reasons of his defeat. He vows not to repeat the mistake
again. He then invites the tortoise for another race. The tortoise agrees to his
friend's request. They meet at the appointed day and time at the starting point.
The race starts. This time the hare dashes off to the finishing line without
taking a break and wins the race comfortably.
The moral of the story is "Fast and
steady wins the race".
The
story does not end here...
The tortoise goes home and thinks hard. He was aware that the
hare couldn't be defeated in speed. He then ponders over his core competence. At
last he finds a solution and invites the hare to another race. This time the
course is changed. It is from CBD to Chatswood. The hare agrees. At the
appointed day and time the two meet at the start line and the race begins. The
hare dashes off like a flash. Soon he arrives at the banks of the Sydney Harbour
and is overwhelmed by a sense of dejection, as he did not know how to swim. The
tortoise comes to the bank, looks at the hare with sympathy and coolly gets into
the water. He swims to the other side goes to the Chatswood and comes back.
The
moral of the story is "Core competence wins the race."
But the story does not end here...
Both the friends decide it was enough of racing against each
other. Why not think hard and find a way by which they together could travel
from CBD to Chatswood at the minimum possible time. At the end of a brain
storming session they come out with a solution and decide to try out the next
morning. At the appointed time they meet at the starting line. The tortoise sits
on the back of the hare. The hare dashes off form CBD to the banks of Sydney
Harbour. There the hare gets on the back of the tortoise and the tortoise
swiftly crosses the river. On reaching the other side the tortoise again sits on
the back of the hare. The hare runs as fast as he can to the Chatswood. Thus
they both reach Chatswood in the fastest possible time.