The Fable

Once upon a time there was a very ambitious, successful young man who hoped one day to reach the top spot of his fine organization. In fact, within a few years, he had risen to the position of executive vice president.

Part of the reason for this young man's success came from his emulation of the organization's legendary CEO, Mr. Big. Mr. Big had it all: bold confidence without the swagger, steely nerves without the callousness, thick hair without the Rogaine. The young man astutely observed Mr. Big in action and tried to absorb the great lessons his boss had to teach.

One sunny spring day, as the young man was leaving a grueling senior managers' meeting, he suddenly felt a hand firmly grip his shoulder from behind. It was Mr. Big. "Young man," he said. "You've got a bright future here. But I have a question."

"Yes, sir?" the young man stumbled.

"Have you ever read The One Minute Manager?" he asked.

"No, I always thought those books were full of -- "

"Well, think again. Read it. It'll do you good," Mr. Big harrumphed as he abruptly turned the corner.

That night, despite the long, tiring day, the young man could not sleep.

So he turned to the journal that he had recently begun on the advice of a friend. He wrote: Dear Diary, What was Mr. Big trying to say? Am I not a good manager?

He must really think a lot of The One Minute Manager to give it such a heavy-handed recommendation. I'm racked with an aching fear that I have wrongly, arrogantly, skipped the entire genre of business fables. I always assumed these books were filled with candy-ass, trite palliatives. Now my hero, Mr. Big, has all but ordered me to read the granddaddy of them all. So be it! I haven't come this far to screw up now!

PS: Wear your lucky socks tomorrow!

The next morning, the young man was first in line at the local bookstore to buy The One Minute Manager. He went straight to the office afterward and asked his assistant to hold all of his calls for 20 minutes. He wanted to read the book very carefully.

Midway through, the young man came to a passage that he underlined on how the One Minute Manager rewards good work. "When he has seen that you have done something right, he comes over and makes contact with you. That often includes putting his hand on your shoulder or briefly touching you in a friendly way."

The young man was reminded of Mr. Big's hand on his shoulder yesterday (though that was surely a one-minute reprimand, if ever there was one). "Okay," he thought. "I'm going to start being a One Minute Manager by catching someone doing something right."

The young man emerged from his office. "Oh, look! Sheila's getting a jump-start on that project I asked her to do."

"Sheila!" the young man crooned.

Startled, Sheila jumped. "You about gave me a heart attack! What do you want?"

The young man, towering over Sheila as she sat dumbstruck in her chair, put both hands firmly on her shoulders, then gently rubbed her bare arms all the way down to her fingers. His eyes were closed as he thought about how to phrase his positive reinforcement. "Uh-oh!" the young man said, just then realizing that he crossed the clear line drawn each year for managers in a mandatory sexual-harassment training class. "No, Sheila, I just wanted to compliment you on -- "

"Yeah, I know what you wanted to compliment me on," Sheila bellowed. "Get the hell out of here, you sick pervert."

"Aarrrgggh!" the young man yelped, and ran back to his office.

It took only 15 minutes for Debra Hirschorn from HR to summon him downstairs. Once there, he found his boss, Mr. Levy, joined by someone from the legal department. After a searing 15-minute harangue from Mr. Levy, the young man was given a stark choice: Be demoted to regional manager or leave. Without even putting up a defense, he took the new job.

Mr. Levy, sympathetic to the young man's plight, took him aside and said, "Young man, it's a real shame that this happened. But you can bounce back. Life is all about dealing with the changes thrown at you." Mr. Levy paused, took a long look at the young man, then continued. "Have you ever read Who Moved My Cheese? I haven't myself, but I hear it's a great book to help someone through a situation like yours. The lessons in there are a precious gift."

Having been sent home for the day per HR policy, the young man went to a cafe across the street from the office and began to write in his journal.

Dear Diary, Where did I go wrong? I don't know. But I'm going to follow Mr. Levy's advice and bounce back. I'm going to buy Who Moved My Cheese? Although for a 94-page book, $19.95 is kinda pricey -- but, hey, that's 21 cents' worth of wisdom per page!

The young man started his new job with a fresh attitude. He devoured Cheese over a quick breakfast, determined to make the most out of Mr. Levy's recommendation.