Interdependency

 A hare and a tortoise live in small village. They are good friends but, 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. 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." Most of the Indians must heard or read this story in their childhood. But, the story does not end here.....

The hare goes home and soon understands 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 cannot 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. The hare agrees. At the appointed day and time, the two meets at the start line and the race begins. The hare dashes off like a flash. Soon he arrives at the banks of river 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 finish line 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 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 from the starting point to the banks of the river. 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 final line. Thus, they both reach the destination in the fastest possible time.

The moral of the story is "Innovation and teamwork wins the race"

These apply to individuals and to organizations…Few things to ponder.          

1.      Most of the people really do not know their own strengths and weaknesses. Even if they know, they do not explore their strengths completely to their advantage. Over confidence and complacency will lead them to inaction like the hare in the story and suddenly they get surprises in their performance.

2.      Knowing the weaknesses and accepting them is the first step. Taking necessary corrective actions and putting effort to overcome some of the critical weaknesses which directly impacts the performance is as important as using our strengths. At the same, we may not be able to overcome certain weaknesses like the tortoise having a shell on him and not able to run faster than hare. But the tortoise finds its won way to succeed by exploring its core strength of traveling both in land and water. Every problem throws an opportunity. “Am I sensitive to those opportunities?”. Success people are not without problems, but they know how to deal with the problem. If one is driven emotionally when he / she encounters a problem, he / she may not be able to see such an opportunity in them. It calls for a balanced mind.

 3.      We may have certain skills and competencies to operate in a specific environment. It is very important to continuously scan the environment in which we operate and understand the competencies required to operate in the new environment. Continuous unlearning and relearning make us fresh and relevant not only to the new situations but also for the future.

 4.      People are different and with different preferences and interests. This diversity only enhances human interactions. What one is capable in one situation, may not be as capable in another situation, like the hare in the land and tortoise in the water. Are we willing to rally others where we are not good at? When we acknowledge someone’s strength and ask for help, always an individual extends more than expected. It is possible when we mutually respect each other and understand the importance of interdependency and teamwork.