Stories That Coach

Stories that Coach Sampler
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Stories That
Coach:
Sampler
Training Tales with Stings
in their Tails

Original and Classic Stories from around the
Worldan Aesops Fables for Today



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This publication is designed to provide accurate and
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of a competent professional should be sought. Eric
Garner, KSA Training Ltd, individually or
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liabilities resulting from the actions of any parties
involved.

Table of Contents

1. Quiet Heroes 4
2. A Cold Winter Forecast 5
3. Walts Vision 6
4. The Impossible Prospect 6
5. About Selling and Life 7
6. Put Music In Your Life 9
7. Compliments That Matter 9
8. So Cortes Burnt The Ships 10
9. When The Cup Is Full< 11
10. Ugg and Bogg 12
11. A Bird In The Hand 12
12. The Traveller 13
13. The Mule In The Well 14
14. The King of Wus
Concubines 15
15. The Stand-In Tenor 16
16. We Dont Do Roof Repairs
17
17. Oops! 18
18. Wealth, Success and Love
19
19. Rabbit Goes To School 20
20. Adding Value 21
21. Its So Hard 22
22. A Bee With Pollen 23
23. Hymn Postings 24
24. The Door To Heaven 25
25. Letting Them Grow 25
26. Batesons Dolphins 26
27. Mans Divinity 27
28. Bring Your Umbrella 28
29. Einsteins Exam 28
30. Dont Make Assumptions
29


1. Quiet Heroes

In "Business as a Game", Albert Carr relates one way in
which a chief executive discovered the quiet heroes on his
team.

"I sent out a memo to all twelve of our
team about our stock participation plan
only for my secretary Martha to inform
me an hour later that there was a
printing error showing 100,000 instead
of 10,000.

I was about to send out a correction when one of my senior
people came to see me on another matter and didn't even
mention the error even though he had received the note.

That gave me an idea. I decided to leave it for a while and
see what happened.

Well, you know, only three people responded. One wrote a
rude memo blaming Martha; one sent me a formal note
making a big deal of it; and the other was the chap who
quietly had a word in Martha's ear.

By the way, that chap's now my personal assistant."

Moral: Value the heroes who dont make a fuss but just get
on with the job.


2. A Cold Winter Forecast

It was autumn, and the Red Indians on
the reservation asked their New Chief if
the winter was going to be cold or mild.
Since he was a Red Indian chief in a
modern society, he couldn't tell what the weather was going
to be. Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he replied to his
tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that
the members of the village should collect wood to be
prepared.

But also being a practical leader, after several days he got an
idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National
Weather Service and asked "Is the coming winter going to be
cold?" "It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold
indeed," the meteorologist at the weather service responded.

So the Chief went back to his people and told them to collect
even more wood. A week later, he called the National
Weather Service again.
"Is it going to be a very cold winter?"
"Yes," the man from the National Weather Service again
replied, "it's definitely going to be a very cold winter."
The Chief again went back to his people and ordered them
to collect every scrap of wood they could find.

Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service


again. "Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be
very cold?"
"Absolutely," the man added. "It's going to be one of the
coldest winters ever."
"How can you be so sure?" the Chief asked.
The weatherman replied, "The Red Indians are collecting
wood like crazy."

Moral: The influence you have on others can be way beyond
what you imagine it to be.

3. Walts Vision

The filmmaker Walt Disney died six years before the
opening of the first Disney World. At the opening
ceremonies, two Disney executives were sitting together.
One said: "Too bad Walt couldn't have been here to see this."
The other replied: "You're wrong. Walt did see it. That's
why it's here."

Moral: Vision is what you see with your inspirations eye.

4. The Impossible Prospect

A recently-recruited sales rep was having difficulty getting
customers. The sales manager decided that the best way to
increase his confidence was to let him negotiate with an easy
customer who always renewed his contract.



The sales manager reviewed his plan with the rep and gave
him details of the customer.

The sales rep met with the customer, and although he was a
little surprised at the amount of selling he had to do, duly
obtained the customers signature for a large new order.

Back at the office, the rep went to his boss to tell him that he
had completed the task as agreed. But as he arrived at the
office, the sales manager called out: Am I glad to see you!
Ive given you the wrong address. Ive given you our most
difficult prospect. Nobodys ever been able to make a deal
with him yet! Dont go.

Moral: In life you get what you expect to get.

5. About Selling and Life

Everything I learned about selling I learned one afternoon
from my father at his furniture store in Westgate-on-Sea. I
was 14 years old and I was sweeping the floor when an
elderly woman entered the store. I asked Dad if I could wait
on her. "Sure", he replied.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, young man. I bought a sofa from your store and the leg
fell off, I want to know when you are going to fix it".



"When did you purchase it, Ma'am?"

"About ten years ago."

I told my father that she thought that we were going to fix it
for free. He said to tell her that we'd be there in the
afternoon.

After visiting her home and screwing on the leg, we left and
on the ride back Dad asked, "What's bothering you son?'

"You know that I want to go to college. If we go around
fixing sofas for free, we'll go broke," I said.

"You have to learn how to do that repair job anyway.
Besides, you missed the most important part. You didnt
notice the store tag when we flipped the couch cover? She
bought it from the Co-op."

"You mean we did that job for nothing and she's not even
our customer?"

Dad looked at me in the eyes and said, "She is now".

Two days later, she returned to our store and bought several
thousand pounds worth of new furniture from me. When
we delivered it, she filled a gallon jar with change, singles,
fives, tens, twenties, fifties and hundreds on the kitchen
table. "Take what you need," she said and left the room.


Moral: Put customer service first and the rest will follow by
itself.

6. Put Music in Your Life

At the turn of the century, there was a
big demand for music lessons, as people
were beginning to have more time for
leisure, and in those days if you wanted
music, someone had to play it.

One successful ad of the period, featured the headline, "Put
Music in Your Life". One day the printers made an error in
preparing the publication, and instead printed, "Puts Music
in Your Life", and to the advertisers astonishment, sales
increased dramatically.

The addition of that little "s" created an appeal to the
reader's natural human inclination toward laziness. And it
drew more people into the body of the ad, resulting in more
sales.

Moral: People would rather things were done for them, than
have to do them for themselves.

7. Compliments That Matter

In "Business as a Game", Albert Carr relates the story of a


speech given by a chief executive. The man was not an
accomplished speaker and knew it. Nevertheless, shortly
after he had sat down, he was approached by one of his
department managers. "Mr Rossen, that was a terrific
speech. A great performance. Churchill couldn't have done
better!"
The chief replied amiably: "Thank you, Larry. Glad you liked
it."

A few days later, another manager came up to the chief
during lunch and said: "Mr Rossen, I've been thinking about
what you said the other night. It's got me thinking about
some changes we could make in our department. Would you
mind if I sent you my thoughts?" "Not at all, Bill," said the
chief. "I'm glad the speech got you thinking."

It's not difficult to work out which compliment mattered
most.

Moral: The best way to compliment someone is to show
them how theyve influenced you.

8. So Cortes Burnt the Ships

When the Spanish conquistador,
Cortes, landed at Vera Cruz in Mexico
in 1518, he expected to find himself
faced with a relatively easy task of
subjugating the native peoples.


Instead, he found that the Tlascalan and Cholulan tribes had
received word of his arrival and were ready in large
numbers to fight him and his troops.

Despite their overwhelming numbers, Cortes knew that the
Indians were no match for the Spanish guns. But Cortes
troops had different ideas and favoured going home.

Faced with this dilemma, and sure that victory would be
theirs if only his men would fight, Cortes decided on only
one course of action.

He burnt the ships.

Moral: When change is unavoidable, eliminate the escape
routes.

9. When The Cup Is Full

Nan-in, a Japanese Zen master, received a visit from a
university professor who wanted to know about zen.

They chatted for a while and then Nan-in poured tea. He
poured his visitor's cup full and continued to pour as the tea
spilled over the sides.

The professor, unable to restrain himself, cried out: "Stop.
The cup is full, no more will go in."


Nan-in replied: "Like this cup, you are full of your own
judgments, speculations, ideas and opinions. How can you
begin to learn until you empty your cup first?"

Moral: You cannot learn new ways without first letting go of
the old.

10. Ugg and Bogg

Ugg and Bogg have operated
successfully for some years as official
carriers in their community. Between
them they have supplied all the
communitys water needs, have dragged in the dinosaur
carcasses and collected roots and berries. Because of their
strength and expertise they are the official bearers of King
Og. As a result, they are accorded privileges not given to
others such as extra pterodactyl and a place near the fire.

One day, as Ugg and Bogg are carrying a load into the cave,
Ack bursts through the bushes shouting with excitement and
carrying a smooth long piece of wood with two circular flat
cross-sections of tree on each end...

Moral: Dont get too comfortable with your present success;
it may not last long.

11. A Bird In The Hand


Many years ago, in ancient China, the disciples of a wise
master decided to play a trick on him. They selected one of
their number to pose an unanswerable question.

The youth approached the master. Wise master, in my hand
I have a bird. Can you tell me if it is alive or dead?

The master thought for a moment. If he replied alive, the
youth would crush the bird and prove him wrong. If he said
dead, then he would release the bird and let it fly away.

Clearly, the apprentices couldnt lose and the master
couldnt win.

Certainly, the master replied after barely a moments
thought. The life of the bird is in your hands.

Moral: When you manage others, you can always do one of
two things: grind them to death or inspire them to life.

12. The Traveller

A traveller was walking down a road when he met a man
from the next town.

"Excuse me," he said. "I am hoping to stay in the next town
tonight. Can you tell me what the townspeople are like?"



"Well," said the townsman, "how did you find the people in
the last town you visited?"

"Oh, they were an irascible bunch. Kept to themselves. Took
me for a fool. Over-charged me for what I got. Gave me very
poor service."

"Well, then," said the townsman, "you'll find them pretty
much the same here."

Moral: Its not what we see that counts, but how we see.

13. The Mule in The Well

A farmer owned an old mule which
accidentally fell into a disused well.

After assessing the situation, the
farmer decided that neither the old
mule nor the well were worth saving.
So he called his neighbours together and got them to bring
mud with them with which to bury the old mule.

At first the mule was hysterical, but then it occurred to him
that every time a shovelful of mud hit his back, he could
shake it off and step up on it.

So this is what he did, blow after blow. Shake it off and step
up, he repeated to himself.


In time, and to the astonishment of the farmer and his
neighbours, the old mule was able to step triumphantly over
the wall of the well.

Moral: When life throws mud at you, shake it off and step
up.

(Thanks to Skai Rusis)

14. The King of Wus Concubines

The King of Wu had heard of the fame of Sun Tzu, the
military strategist, and challenged him to demonstrate his
theories by transforming 180 of his concubines into a
fighting force.

Tzu took up the challenge. He divided the concubines into
two companies and put them under the command of the
kings two favourite and most beautiful mistresses. Then he
instructed them in some basic commands.

When I say Eyes front! you must look straight ahead.
When I say Left turn! you must face left. When I say
Right turn! you must face right. And when I say About
turn! you must turn right round to the back.

But when Tzu issued his first command, Right turn!, the
concubines just giggled.


Tzu apologized and took the blame himself. If words and
commands are not clear and distinct, if orders are not
thoroughly understood, the general is to blame.

He tried again. Once again, the girls just giggled and didnt
move. Sun Tzu was not amused. If the orders are clear and
the soldiers disobey, it is the fault of their officers.

So he ordered the two chief concubines whom he had put in
charge to be beheaded. The king was distraught and begged
Sun Tzu not to punish them so harshly.

But Sun Tzu ignored the kings pleas and had the
concubines taken away to be beheaded. Then he shouted
Right turn! once more.

This time, the remaining women instantly turned to the right
as one.

Sun Tzu was appointed the kings commander and went on
to wage a series of victorious military campaigns against the
kings neighbours and foes.

Moral: The role of team leader is crucial in passing on the
orders of those above to those below.

15. The Stand-In Tenor



Several years ago, a world-famous tenor
had been booked to appear at a Paris opera
house. The performance was a sell-out.
However, just before the curtain rose, the
house manager took the stage and
announced that, due to a throat infection,
the star could not appear. Instead, they had
found a replacement at short notice.

The audience groaned in disappointment. The name of the
stand-in was hardly noticed.

The stand-in gave the performance of his life. At the end,
there was an uncomfortable silence as he stepped forward to
take his bow. No one applauded.

Then from an upstairs balcony, a boy shouted out: Well
done, Dad! I thought you were great!

Within a few seconds, the silence of the auditorium was
broken with thunderous and heartfelt applause.

Moral: Praise people for what they do, not what they do
compared to others.

16. We Dont Do Roof Repairs

The following anecdote comes from Rod Knowles of the City
of Sheffield council.


A man walked into a McDonald's fast food restaurant and
asked if he could get the roof of his council house repaired
that week.

He was told quite courteously that they couldn't help him as
they sold hamburgers.

"I know that," the man replied. "But even so, the service here
is better than at the council. I only had to wait 30 seconds in
one queue before being told I couldn't have what I wanted.
The place is clean, pleasant and friendly and you seem
genuinely sorry that you can't help me.

"I think I'll come back if I need any more council help."

Moral: Customers dont just want solutions to their
problems; they also want to be treated with respect and
understanding.

17. Oops!

The writer, Anthony Robbins, tells the
following story in his book "Unlimited
Power". It illustrates the power of the
technique of matching your behaviour
to those you want to influence.

A class of schoolchildren decided one morning to play a


prank on their teacher who was late in arriving. At a pre-
arranged moment when she reached her desk, all the
children dropped their books on the floor.

Noticing at once what was going on, the teacher put down
her chalk, picked up her book and accidentally dropped it
too.
"Sorry I'm late, " she said, picking up the book. "Let's start at
page 23" and she continued as if nothing had happened.

From that moment on, she had the children eating out of her
hand.

Moral: We like people who are like us.

18. Wealth, Success and Love

A man came home from work to find three old men sitting
outside his house. Because they looked tired and hungry, he
invited them in.

We do not accept joint invitations,
they replied.
Why is that? he asked.
One of the men explained: I am
Wealth, my friend here is Success and
the other one is Love. Now which of us
will you let in?



The man went in and asked his wife what to do. Lets have
Wealth in, she cried. No, said his daughter, lets have
Success. His mother was in the house and said: Would it
not be better to invite Love in and then your home will be
filled with happiness?

The man decided to heed his mothers advice and invited
Love in. Love got up and walked in and was followed by
the others.

Surprised, the man asked: I only invited Love in. Why are
you coming in as well? The old men replied: If you had
invited Wealth or Success, the other two would have stayed
out, but since you invited Love, wherever he goes, we go
with him.

Moral: Do what you do with love and the rest will follow.

19. Rabbit Goes To School

This anecdote comes from Donald
Clifton and Paula Nelson.

When Rabbit first went to school, he
was delighted with what the instructor told him. "Rabbit,
you have fine legs. You hop well, spring well and jump well.
With some guidance, you can be an excellent jumper."
Rabbit loved every minute of the Hopping class and
excelled.


Then the Head Teacher said: "But Rabbit, you don't swim
well or climb trees at all well. You must stop the Jumping
class and concentrate on swimming and tree climbing."
So, Rabbit left the Jumping class that he loved and went to
the Swimming class and Tree climbing class that he hated.

After a while, miserable and dispirited, he begged his
parents to take him out of school. "If only I'd been allowed to
stay in Jumping," he thought.

Moral: For excellent performance, get people to develop
what they are already good at.

20. Adding Value

The story is told that Steve Jobs, pioneering head of Apple
Computers, was one day interrupted from his work to be
introduced to a new recruit to the organisation.

"Hi, sir," said the young man impressed to be meeting the
legendary Jobs.
"Hi," replied Jobs warmly. "What do you do?"
"I'm the new Accounts Receivable Supervisor."
Jobs answered: "No. What do you do? DTP? Graphics?
Animation? Sound? Multimedia? Video?"
Uncomprehending, the young recruit repeated: "I'm the new
Accounts Receivable Supervisor, sir."
To which Jobs muttered a barely audible "Oh, cost..." and


returned to his work.

Moral: Its not what you do that counts, but how you add
value.

21. Its So Hard

In his book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People",
Stephen Covey describes the experience of getting his seven-
year-old son, Stephen, to take responsibility for keeping
their yard green and clean throughout the summer months.

Covey went to great pains to show his son what he wanted
the yard to look like, with the proviso that "you're the boss
now; it's up to you."

The two made a deal about how the work would be done
and how results would be judged. Then Covey senior left
Stephen to it.

Two weeks passed. And nothing happened.

Each day, Covey looked for the results he'd been promised
but to no avail. In the end, unable to leave it any longer, and
tempted to return to "gofer" delegation, Covey asked to
inspect the overgrown and dirty yard...
"It's so hard, Dad!"
What's so hard? I thought to myself. You haven't done a
single thing! But I knew what was hard - self-management,


self-supervision. So I said, "Is there anything I can do to
help?"
"Would you, Dad," he sniffed. He pointed to the garbage
from the barbecue. "Will you pick that stuff up? It makes me
sick."

So I did. I did exactly what he asked me to do. And that was
when he signed the agreement in his heart. It became his
yard, his stewardship.

He only asked for help two or three more times that
summer. He took care of that yard and kept it greener and
cleaner than it had ever been under my stewardship.

Moral: Dont underestimate how hard it is for people to
accept responsibility if theyve never been used to it.

22. A Bee With Pollen

Truly empowering managers are often
unaware of what they do to create an
environment in which others flourish.

This is how Walt Disney described his role.
"You know I was stumped the other day when a little boy
asked me: "Do you draw Mickey Mouse?" I had to admit I
do not draw any more. "Then you think up all the jokes and
ideas?" "No," I said, "I don't do that either." Finally, he
looked at me and said: "Mr Disney, what do you do?" "Well,"


I said, "Sometimes I think of myself as a little bee. I go from
one area of the studio to another and gather pollen and sort
of stimulate everybody. I guess that's the job I do. I certainly
don't consider myself a businessman and I never did believe
I was worth anything as an artist. Yes, I'm a bee with pollen."

Moral: You can sometimes do more through inspiration than
perspiration.

23. Hymn Postings

Some years ago, the 3M company introduced a policy of
allowing its employees to spend 15% of their time on any
project that interested them.

One of the scientists in the 3M commercial office, Art Fry,
decided to take advantage of this policy. Every Sunday Art
attended his local church to sing in the choir. Every Sunday
he had to deal with the small irritation of marking the pages
of his hymn book with small bits of paper to locate the
hymns for the service. Invariably, as he moved the book
around, the pieces of paper fell out or got lost.

During the 15% creative period, Art remembered an
adhesive that a colleague had developed but discarded
because it didnt stick very well. I coated the adhesive on
some strips of yellow paper and found that it was not only a
good bookmark but was great for writing down the numbers
of the hymns. It stayed in place as long as I wanted but


could be removed without damage.

The resulting product was called the Post-It! note and
became one of 3Ms most successful products.

Moral: The starting point for any innovation is to seek
solutions to simple needs.

24. The Door to Heaven

According to an old legend, a holy
mountain had been discovered in a
distant country. It promised people
access to heaven from its summit.
Very soon, thousands of people were
flocking to the holy mountain. When they reached the top,
they discovered two doors. One read "Heaven: this way" and
the other read "Lecture on Heaven".
Almost everyone was lining up for the lecture. (Thanks to
Ken Keyes)

Moral: Many of us prefer hearing about experiences than
experiencing them at first-hand.

25. Letting Them Grow

A Zen master once asked an audience of Westerners what
they thought was the most important word in the English
language. After giving his listeners the chance to think about


such favourite words as love, truth, failure, success and so
on, he said: "No, it's a three-letter word. It's the word, "let".
Let it be. Let it happen." (W. Timothy Gallwey)

Moral: You cant make anything or anyone grow; you can
only provide the right conditions.

26. Batesons Dolphins

In "Steps to the Ecology of Mind",
the anthropologist Gregory Bateson
describes how he saw dolphins
learning how to learn in a
dolphinarium.

On the first day of a new routine, the dolphins were taught a
new trick. If they performed it correctly, they were rewarded
with a fish.

The next day, when they performed the trick, no fish were
given. Fish were only given when a new trick was mastered.

This continued for two weeks. Then on the fourteenth day,
the dolphins performed four new tricks they hadn't been
shown before but had learnt by themselves.

The dolphins had learnt that learning, not tricks, is what gets
rewarded.



Moral: Reward people for their learning, not their imitating.

27. Mans Divinity

This re-telling of an ancient Hindu legend comes from
Christian Godefroy, author of "Mind Power".

There was a time when all men were gods. But they so
abused their divinity that Brahma decided to deprive them
of their divine power. The only problem was where to hide
this power so that man would not find it. An assembly of
minor gods was called to discuss the problem.

"Let's hide it in the earth," they said.
"No," said the Brahma, "they will dig it up."
"What about the ocean depths?" they suggested.
"Not much better," said the Brahma. "Sooner or later man
will explore every region of the world and the universe."

After a lot of discussion, it was concluded that there was no
safe place to hide man's divine power.
Then Brahma said. "This is what we'll do. We'll hide it in the
one place man will never think of looking for it: in the very
depths of man himself."
And that's what the gods did.

Moral: The real source of our potential to be great lies inside
us, not outside us.



28. Bring Your Umbrella

One summer, a drought threatened the crop in a small town.
On a hot and dry Sunday, the village parson told his
congregation, "There isn't anything that will save us except
to pray for rain. Go home, pray, believe,
and come back next Sunday ready to
thank God for sending rain."

The people did as they were told and
returned to church the following
Sunday. But as soon as the parson saw
them, he was furious. "We can't worship today. You do not
yet believe," he said. "But," they protested, "we prayed, and
we do believe." "Believe?" he responded. "Then where are
your umbrellas?"

Moral: When you truly believe that things will change, the
belief becomes ingrained within you and a part of the new
you.

29. Einsteins Exam

Albert Einstein had just administered an
examination to an advanced class of
Physics students.
As he left the building, he was followed
out by one of his teaching assistants.


Excuse me, sir, said the shy assistant, not quite sure how
to tell the great man about his blunder.
Yes? said Einstein.
Um, eh, it's about the test you just handed out.
Einstein waited patiently.
I'm not sure that you realize it, but this is the same test you
gave out last year. In fact, it's identical.
Einstein paused to think for a moment, then said, Hmm,
yes, it is the same test.
The teaching assistant was now very agitated. What should
we do, sir?
A slow smile spread over Einstein's face. I don't think we
need to do anything. The answers have changed.

Moral: Its not always the things we expect to change that
change.

30. Dont Make Assumptions

A young job candidate found himself sitting in the waiting
room on his second interview. There were five other people
sitting beside him and he nervously eyed them up and down
to assess his chances. Being in the second slot, the young
man went in and performed his best. He was delighted to be
offered the job and then his interviewer asked about salary.
The young man, aware that if he went too high, he might be
rejected in favour of one of the other five, settled for a
modest figure.



Later, after starting the job, the new employee confided his
thoughts about the appointment to his boss.
"Oh, no," replied his boss. "You were the only candidate. We
were delighted to get you at the salary you wanted. Those
others were in for a quite different job."

Moral: Never make assumptions until you check out the
facts.



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