A successful businessman was growing old and knew it was time to
choose a successor to take over the business.
Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided
to do something different. He brought all the young executives in his
company together and said, "It is time for me to step down and choose
the next CEO and I have decided that it will be one of you."
The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going
to give each of you a seed today - a very special one. I want you to
plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with
what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge
the plants that you bring, and the person whose plant I choose will be
the next CEO"
A man named Jim was there that day and he, like the others, received a
seed. When he got home, he excitedly told his wife the story. She
helped him get a pot, soil, and compost for the seed and he planted
it.
Every day he would water it and check to see if it had grown. After
about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about
their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow from them.
Jim kept checking his seed but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four
weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now others were talking
about their plants, but Jim didn't have a plant and he felt like a
failure.
Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he had
killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had
nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however, he just
kept watering and fertilizing the soil - he so badly wanted to see the
seed grow.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company
brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that
he wasn't going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest
about what happened.
Jim felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing
moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.
He took his empty pot to the boardroom. When Jim arrived, he was
amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They
were beautiful -- in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on
the floor and many of his colleagues laughed and felt sorry for him.
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young
executives. Jim tried his best to hide in the back.
"My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown," he said.
"Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"
All of a sudden, he spotted Jim at the back of the room with an empty
pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim
was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a failure. He will have
me fired!"
When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his
seed - Jim told him the story.
The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at him, and
then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next Chief
Executive Officer! His name is Jim."
Jim couldn't believe it. He couldn't even grow his seed!
"How could he be the new CEO?" the others asked.
The CEO replied, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a
seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it
back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it
was not possible for them to grow.”
