Find peace in the pleasure of canoe camping.
The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend
more time fishing and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat with the proceeds
from the bigger boat you could buy several boats, eventually you would have
a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you
would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery.
You would control the product, processing and distribution.
You would need to leave this small fishing village and move to
Australia, then LA and eventually NYC where you will run your
expanding enterprise."
The South Seas fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" To
which the American replied, "15-20 years."
"But what then?"
The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right
you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and
become very rich, you would make millions."
"Millions, really? Then what?"
The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small fishing village where
you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a late
afternoon nap with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings here you
could sip rum and play your guitar with your friends."
And this is one reason I do it:
Through tattered clothes small vices do appear;
Robes and furred gowns hide all. Plate sin with gold,
And the strong lance of justice hurtless breaks;
Arm it in rags, a pygmy's straw does pierce it.
- William Shakespeare, King Lear (King Lear at IV, vi)
"Hunters for gold or pursuers of fame, they all had gone out on that stream,
bearing the sword, and often the torch, messengers of the might within the
land, bearers of a spark of the sacred fire. What greatness had not floated
on the ebb of that river into the mystery of an unknown earth!...The dreams
of men, the seed of commonwealths, the germs of empires."
Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness.
A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race
on the Missouri River.
Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance
before the race.
On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.
Afterward, the American team became very discouraged and depressed.
The American management decided the reason for the crushing defeat had to
be found. A Management Team made up of senior management was formed to
investigate and recommend appropriate action.
Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people paddling and 1 person
steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and one person
paddling. (The huge 35 to 40 foot canot du matre normally carried fourteen.)
So American management hired a consulting company and paid them an
incredible amount of money. They advised that too many people were
steering the canoe, while not enough people were paddling.
To prevent losing to the Japanese again next year, the American team's
management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors,
3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering
manager. They also implemented a new performance system that would give
the 1 person paddling the canoe greater incentive to work harder.
It was called the "Paddling Team Quality First Program," with meetings,
dinners and free pens for the paddler. Even new paddles and medical
benefit incentives were promised for a winner. We must give the paddler
the empowerment and enrichments through this quality program.
The next year the Japanese won by two miles.
Humiliated, the American management laid off the paddler for poor
performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and
canceled all capital investments for new equipment.
The money saved was distributed to the senior executives as bonuses.
