Thought for the Day 4/23/2021
Friday Tale - People Perspective
The Wrath of John D. Rockefeller
A senior executive of Standard Oil Company in 1901 made a wrong decision that cost the company more than $2 million. Back then this was a lot of money, even for Standard Oil.
John D. Rockefeller
was still running the firm. On the day the news leaked out most of the
executives of the company were finding various ingenious ways of avoiding Mr.
Rockefeller, lest his wrath descend on their heads as well.
There was one
exception, Edward Bedford, a partner in the company. Bedford was scheduled to
see Rockefeller that day and he kept the appointment, even though he was
prepared to listen to a long harangue against the man who made the error in
judgment.
When he entered the
office the powerful head of the gigantic Standard Oil empire was bent over his
desk busily writing with a pencil on a pad of paper. Bedford stood silently,
not wishing to interrupt. After a few minutes Rockefeller looked up.
“Oh, it’s you,
Bedford,” he said calmly. “I suppose you’ve heard about our loss?”
Bedford said that he
had.
“I’ve been thinking it
over,” Rockefeller said, “and before I ask the man in to discuss the matter,
I’ve been making some notes.”
At the top of the page
Rockefeller had written the man’s name. There followed a long list of the man’s
virtues, including a brief description of how he had helped the company make
the right decision on three separate occasions that had earned many times the
cost of his recent error.
Bedford said: “I never
forgot that lesson. In later years, whenever I was tempted to rip into anyone,
I forced myself first to sit down and thoughtfully compile as long a list of
good points as I possibly could.”
“Invariably, by the
time I finished my inventory, I would see the matter in its true perspective
and keep my temper under control. There is no telling how many times this habit
prevented me from committing one of the costliest mistakes any executive or any
person can make -- losing his temper.”
“I commend it to
anyone who must deal with people.”
~ Unknown author
When there are many words, transgression is unavoidable
BUT he who restrains his lips is wise.
~ Proverbs 10:19
Comments
Post a Comment