utsedh
December 24th, 2001, 08:46 PM
Here is the modern Hare & Tortoise story ... with lesson for survival in
today's context.
A hare and a tortoise live in Ahmedabad. 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 Paldi to Navarangpura. 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."
I accept this is our old story.
But 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".
But 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. It is from Paldi to Airport. 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 river Sabarmati 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 airport and comes
back.
The moral of the story is "Core competency 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 Paldi to
airport 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 Paldi to
the banks of Sabarmati. 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 airport. Thus they both reach airport in the fastest possible time.
The moral of the story is "Innovation and team work wins the race"
This time around the story really ends here!
today's context.
A hare and a tortoise live in Ahmedabad. 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 Paldi to Navarangpura. 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."
I accept this is our old story.
But 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".
But 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. It is from Paldi to Airport. 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 river Sabarmati 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 airport and comes
back.
The moral of the story is "Core competency 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 Paldi to
airport 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 Paldi to
the banks of Sabarmati. 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 airport. Thus they both reach airport in the fastest possible time.
The moral of the story is "Innovation and team work wins the race"
This time around the story really ends here!