Problem solving story: How to tell the king that his solution isn't suitable
Once upon a time, there lived a king who ruled a happy and prosperous kingdom. One day the king decided to travel and visit various places in his kingdom. He visited various historical and pilgrim centers, he went to distant and remote places where his chariot couldn’t reach, so the king visited many of those sites on foot.
Traveling a long distance on foot was a wonderful experience for the king. He got to interact with his people and he learned about their life and problems. Many people were very happy to meet the king and expressed how they were very happy under his rule. But, the king wasn’t used to long walks. He got severe pain in his legs. He could not tolerate the pain as he walked all the way through the rough path.
He complained to his ministers that the roads weren’t comfortable and that they were very rough to walk on. The king also expressed his concerns for the people who had to walk along those roads every day. For the convenience of the people, the king ordered to cover all the roads in his kingdom with leather. The king believed that this will make his people’s life more convenient.
The ministers were stunned to hear the absurd order from the king. Not only was the king’s fantasy of having the leather pathway expensive. They would have to take the lives of many cattle to get sufficient leather.
A wise king’s advisor came to the king and said that he had a better idea. He took the size of the king’s feet and made a nice pair of comfortable leather shoes. He made the king wear those shoes and walk on the rough paths. The king admired the comfortable leather shoes as he did not feel any pain walking on it. The king applauded the genius idea that saved money and thousands of cattle lives.
Moral of the story:
- In business, many times managers do more damage than good by giving orders or making plans about operations they never worked on or haven't worked on for a long time. They want to be the ones who "fix" or better a business process without putting in the work and by giving superficial instructions. When the results are not what they planed everyone else is to blame.
- When you encounter a problem do not think you are the only one who can come up with the solution. Take advice from people who have the necessary experience and knowledge. Listen to the ones who have walked the path you have yet not.
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