Go upriver!
Once upon a time …
Two friends decided to eat lunch by the river. As they were eating their lunch, they noticed a child who was caught in the current and thrashing about, unable to get back to shore.
The two friends acted quickly, forming a human chain, where one friend grabbed onto his friend’s hand while the other friend waded into the rushing waters to reach the child (who was a boy) and drag him back to shore.
No sooner had they retrieved that child, than they saw two more children coming down the river. They quickly went into action again and saved those two children as well.
After a few minutes of rest, another child came down the river, thrashing in the current. This time one friend went into the water, but the other friend started walking upstream.
Rescuing the child by himself was exhausting for the first friend, but he was thankfully able to do it. As he sat and rested, he noticed that no more children seemed to be coming down the river, so he counted his blessings while also stewing in his anger at his friend for abandoning him in such a dire situation.
About ten minutes later, the second friend returned. Some of his clothes were torn, and his knuckles were raw.
“Where were you?” the first friend demanded. “I had to struggle to save a kid! It would have been a lot easier if you wouldn’t have just walked off!”
The second replied, “I went upstream and beat up the bully who was throwing kids into the river.”
(I’m not sure where I first heard this gem, but I think it’s a good one for those of us who lead organizations or teams.)
The morals of the story:
Once is an accident. Twice is a concern. Three times is a trend.
You’ve got to try something different to address a trend.
Sometimes you have to get closer to the source of the problem before you know what to do differently.
Those you work with may not always appreciate your action, but that shouldn’t stop you from taking action to fix problems.