Hare Tortoise2

On ce up on a ti me a to rto ise an d a hare had an ar gu men t about wh o was faster . Th ey deci de d to sett le th e argum ent wi th a r ace . They agr eed on a rou te an d star ted off th e rac e.

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1

Th e hare sh ot ahead an d r an br iskly fo r some ti me. T hen see ing th at he w as far ahead o f th e tor toi se, he th ou gh t he'd si t un de r a t ree fo r some time and relax befor e con ti nuing t he r ace .

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2

He sat under the tree and soon fell asleep. The tortoise plodding on overtook him and soon finished the race, emerging as the undisputed champ.

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3

The hare woke u p and reali ze d th at he'd lost t he race .

Th e mor al o f th e stor y i s that slow and stea dy w ins th e race.

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4

This is t he ve rsion of the sto ry th at we've all gr own up w ith . But th en rece ntly, someo ne t old me a mo re inter esti ng ve rsion of t his st or y. It con ti nues. 2002/12/20

5

The har e was di sap poi nted at lo si ng the race an d h e di d some Defec t Pr even ti on (R oot Cause An alysi s). He r ea li sed th at he'd lo st th e rac e on ly beca use he had be en over con fi den t, car eles s an d lax.

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6

If he had not ta ken t hings for gr anted, ther e's no way th e tor toi se could hav e bea ten hi m. So h e ch allen ged th e to rtoi se t o anoth er rac e. Th e tor to ise ag reed.

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7

Th is t ime, th e har e wen t all out an d ran with out sto pping fr om star t to fi nish . He won by se veral mi le s. Th e mor al o f th e stor y ？ Fa st an d consi sten t w ill alw ays 2002/12/20 beat th e slow an d stead y.

8

If you h ave two people i n you r or gan isa tion , one slo w, met hodi ca l an d reli ab le, an d the o th er fas t and st ill r el iable at wh at he does, th e fast an d reli able chap wi ll con si st ently cli mb th e or gan isati onal ladd er faster th an th e slow , meth odi cal ch ap .

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9

It's go od t o be slo w and st eady; but i t's be tter to be fas t and reliable. But th e stor y do esn 't en d h er e. The tor toi se did so me t hinki ng th is ti me, and r eali zed that th er e's n o way h e ca n bea t th e hare in a race the w ay it was cur ren tly fo rmatt ed. 2002/12/20 10

He th ough t for a w hile, and th en challen ged th e hare to anoth er rac e, Bu t on a sli gh tl y di ffe ren t rou te.

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11

The hare agr eed. Th ey st arted off. In ke ep ing wi th his self-m ade comm itmen t to be consi sten tly fa st, th e hare to ok off an d r an at to p sp ee d un ti l he came to a broad river . 2002/12/20

12

Th e fi nishing li ne was a coup le of ki lom eter s on th e ot her si de of the river . Th e har e sat th er e wo nder ing w hat to do. In the mean ti me th e t or toi se tr un dled alo ng, go t into th e river , swam to the opp osi te ba nk, 13 2002/12/20 con ti nued walki ng and fi nish ed th e

The mor al o f th e stor y? Fi rst iden tify you r core com peten cy and then ch an ge th e playi ng fi el d to sui t yo ur cor e com peten cy.

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14

In an organ isati on, if you ar e a good sp ea ker , make sure you cr eate op por tun iti es to g ive pres en tations t hat en able t he sen ior man agemen t to noti ce you.

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15

If you r str en gth is analysi s, make sur e yo u do som e so rt of resea rch, make a rep ort an d sen d it up st airs. Worki ng t o yo ur str ength s wi ll not on ly get yo u not ice d but w ill also create op portu nities fo r g rowth an d adva ncemen t.

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16

The sto ry sti ll hasn 't en ded.

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17

Th e har e an d th e to rto ise, by this ti me, had be co me pretty g ood fr iends an d th ey di d som e th inki ng to geth er . Bot h rea li zed th at th e la st r ace cou ld h ave been run m uch bet ter .

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18

So they deci de d to do th e la st race agai n, but to run as a team th is ti me. They star ted off, and thi s time th e hare ca rried t he tor toi se ti ll the river ban k. Th er e, th e to rto ise to ok over an d sw am ac ross w ith the h ar e on his19 2002/12/20 back.

On th e op posi te ban k, th e hare agai n car ried th e to rtoi se an d th ey reach ed t he fi nish ing li ne to get her. Th ey bo th fel t a grea ter sen se o f sat isfacti on th an th ey'd felt ea rlier .

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20

The mor al o f th e stor y? It's go od to be indi vi du ally br illi ant and to have str ong cor e com peten ci es; but un less y ou'r e able t o wo rk i n a team an d harness ea ch ot her's cor e com peten cies, yo u'll always perfor m below p ar beca use th ere will alw ays be si tua tion s at wh ich yo u'll do poor ly 2002/12/20 and som eone else does w ell. 21

Teamw or k is mai nly about situati on al leader shi p, le tti ng th e per so n wi th t he r elevan t cor e comp eten cy for a si tu ation t ake lead er sh ip.

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22

Th er e are mor e less ons to be lea rnt fr om t his st or y. Note th at nei ther t he hare nor t he tor toi se gave up aft er fai lu res . The har e deci ded t o wo rk harder an d put in mo re effo rt after his fai lur e. 2002/12/20

23

The tor toi se ch anged his str ateg y beca use he w as alr ea dy wo rki ng as har d as he cou ld . In l ife, when face d with fai lur e, so meti mes it i s ap prop riate t o wor k har der and put in mo re effo rt.

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24

So meti mes i t is appropriate to chan ge st rategy an d try som ething di ffer en t. An d somet imes i t is appropriate to do both .

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25

The har e and th e tor to ise also lea rnt anot her vi tal lesson . When we sto p com peti ng against a rival an d instead st art co mp eti ng agai nst th e si tuati on, we per for m fa r better .

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26

When Ro be rto Go izueta t oo k over as CE O of Co ca-C ola in th e 1980 s, he was fa ced w ith inten se com peti tion fr om Pe psi that was ea ting i nto Co ke 's g row th .

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27

Hi s execut ives were Pe psi fo cuss ed and inten t on increa si ng marke t sh ar e 0. 1 per ce nt a ti me. Go izueta de ci ded to sto p com peti ng agai nst Pe psi an d instead com pete agai nst th e si tu ati on o f 0.1 per ce nt gr ow th .

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28

He asked his execut ives what was the aver age flui d intake of an Amer ican per day? Th e answer w as 14 oun ces. What was Coke's shar e of th at? Two oun ces . Goi zuet a sa id C ok e needed a la rger sh ar e of th at mar ket. 2002/12/20

29

The com petiti on wasn 't Pep si . It was th e water , tea, coffee , mi lk an d fr ui t jui ces that wen t into the remai ning 12 oun ces . Th e publi c sh ou ld reac h fo r a Coke wh enever they felt li ke dr inki ng someth ing.

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30

To t his en d, Coke put up ven ding mac hines at eve ry street corner . Sa les to ok a q uantum ju mp an d Pep si has never qui te caugh t u p si nce.

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31

To sum up , t he sto ry of the har e and tor to ise t ea ch es us many th ings. Chief amo ng them ar e th at fast and con sisten t wi ll alw ays bea t slo w an d st eady; wo rk t o yo ur com peten ci es; pooli ng reso ur ces an d wor ki ng as a tea m w ill alwa ys beat indi vi dual per fo rmer s; never gi ve up when fa ced wi th fa ilur e; an d fi nal ly, comp ete against th e 32 2002/12/20 situati on .