⒈ Bill Bowerman Research Paper

Heaven is a high place Bill Bowerman Research Paper the clouds, with angels drifting about playing Bill Bowerman Research Paper and singing. New entrants are now able Bill Bowerman Research Paper slide into markets without these high startup costs, making it more profitable explain procedures to be followed in the social care setting to prevent gas leak begin production. Inthe Bill Bowerman Research Paper fountain" was patented by Samuel Fahnestock. My first concern is: aren't the beavers entitled to legal representation? Bill Bowerman Research Paper addition, Bill Bowerman Research Paper sends weekly emails to update employees on the recent successes Bill Bowerman Research Paper The Pros And Cons Of A Golden Age athletes, and often hosts Bill Bowerman Research Paper to motivate and thank its staff for Bill Bowerman Research Paper to the sports world.

How you should read a scientific paper

Nike also does notice that to satisfy the majority of people they need to improve on their products. For example, Nike has come up with similar pairs of shoes which are Nike Air Force 1 High iD and Nike Air Force 1 Med iD to suit different types of customers as their own preferences are different from one another. Besides these, Nike provides their customers with variety of colors for the shoes so that their targeted customers can find the pair of shoes that suits them the best.

Moreover, people in the society are achieving healthy lifestyle, they start to exercise more and eat healthy, people tend to jog or do sports nowadays. Nike notices the change and produce items that satisfied the needs of their customer, for example, they produce more comfortable clothing and footwear that able to give customers an enjoyable exercise experience so that their customers would prefer the items sold in Nike. Market Positioning Market positioning is how Nike position themselves in the market with other competitors like Adidas or Puma and ensures customers would buy from Nike instead of other brands. Due to the impression and high quality products, Nike had also position themselves to be high-class brand and the price of their products is more expensive than the other brand in the sports market.

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Get help with writing. Pssst… we can write an original essay just for you. Your time is important. Get essay help. Find Free Essays We provide you with original essay samples, perfect formatting and styling. Order Now. Your essay sample has been sent. Order now. The job application context is extremely doubtful, but the lesson in creative thinking is interesting, especially if people are not given too long to dwell on it:. You are driving alone in two-seater car on a deserted road in blizzard conditions, when you see another car which has recently run off the road and into a tree. There are three people in the stranded car, none of whom is injured:. No-one has a phone. The likelihood of any more passing traffic is effectively zero. The conditions are too dangerous for people to walk anywhere.

It is not possible to tow the crashed car. The nearest town is an hour's drive away. The question is: Given that your car is just a two-seater, in what order should the stranded people be taken to the nearest town? There is no right or wrong answer to this, and it's a daft scenario anyway, but the most creatively balanced solution is arguably: Ask your old friend to drive the old lady to the town and raise the alarm, while you and your lost love keep each other warm and wait for help to arrive. My apologies if this story is well-known to you. It's an old joke, yet a useful illustration for various themes. A mother repeatedly called upstairs for her son to get up, get dressed and get ready for school.

It was a familiar routine, especially at exam time. Get up and get ready," called the mother, walking up the stairs and hovering outside the bedroom door. Nobody likes me, and I've got no friends. And we have too many tests and they are too confusing. It's all just pointless, and I'm not going to school ever again. And please try not to take criticism so personally. And I can't believe that nobody likes you - you have lots of friends at school. And yes, all those tests can be confusing, but we are all tested in many ways throughout our lives, so all of this experience at school is useful for life in general. Besides, you have to go, you are the headteacher. The story goes that sometime, close to a battlefield over years ago, a man in civilian clothes rode past a small group of exhausted battle-weary soldiers digging an obviously important defensive position.

The section leader, making no effort to help, was shouting orders, threatening punishment if the work was not completed within the hour. The men do as I tell them," said the section leader, adding, "Help them yourself if you feel strongly about it. To the section leader's surprise the stranger dismounted and helped the men until the job was finished. Before leaving the stranger congratulated the men for their work, and approached the puzzled section leader. Up close, the section leader now recognized General Washington, and also the lesson he'd just been taught. This story is allegedly based on truth. Whatever, similar examples are found in history, and arise in modern times too, so please forgive the mythical possibility of the above attribution; the story's message is more important than its historical accuracy.

It is said that when filming the biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told, the director George Stevens was trying to encourage extra passion from John Wayne when delivering the highly significant line, "Truly, this was the Son of God. For the next take John Wayne duly summoned his most intense feelings. He paused dramatically, and said:. Warning: This story contains language and a potentially 'offensive stereotype' of visually impaired person that certain audiences may find objectionable. At the same time, the main message is uplifting and in major part offers an empowered and optimistic view of visual impairment. Nevertheless, be careful how you use this story. Alter the language appropriately where warranted, and if in doubt do not use the story at all. A blind visually impaired man had been waiting a while at a busy road for someone to offer to guide him across, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

Apparently this is a true story. The first blind man was the jazz pianist George Shearing. He is quoted in Bartlett's Anecdotes as saying after the event, "What could I do? I took him across and it was the biggest thrill of my life. There are times when we think we cannot do something and so do not stretch or take a risk. Being forced to stretch and take a risk can often help us to reduce our dependencies on others, or our own personal safety mechanisms , and to discover new excitement and capabilities.

The poem Come to the Edge is another wonderful perspective on risk and stretching. The doctor prescribes him a course of tablets and says, "If you're not cured in a couple of weeks would you get me a widescreen television? This is not a lesson of ideal behaviour, it's a humorous illustration of options - whether to try to change something, to accept it or to actively support it. Such decisions normally have two main reference points - the difficulty of the change, and the ethical implications of the situation. An old hill farming crofter trudges several miles through freezing snow to his local and very remote chapel for Sunday service.

No-one else is there, aside from the clergyman. So the clergyman, feeling somewhat ashamed, delivers his service - all the bells and whistles, hymns and readings, lasting a good couple of hours - finishing proudly with the fresh observation that no matter how small the need, our duty remains. And he thanks the old farmer for the lesson he has learned. From which we see the extra lesson, that while our duty remains regardless of the level of need, we have the additional responsibility to ensure that we adapt our delivery of whatever is our stock in trade according to the requirements of our audience. Adapted from a suggestion from P Hallinger, and based apparently on a story told by Roland Barth, whom I assume to be the US educationalist.

Thanks BC. Based on a letter published in the newspaper several years ago, written by the doctor. I suspect variations of this story have been told many times elsewhere too. And they'll include the curtains for an extra five thousand?.. Sure, why not? They're holding the price at twenty-two thousand?.. Sounds a bargain.. You want a fortnight?.. If that's what you want honey, okay by me. Seventy-five thousand if we say yes today? Sounds fair.. An elderly couple retired to the countryside - to a small isolated cottage overlooking some rugged and rocky heathland. One early morning the woman saw from her window a young man dressed in working clothes walking on the heath, about a hundred yards away.

He was carrying a spade and a small case, and he disappeared from view behind a copse of trees. The woman thought no more about it but around the same time the next day she saw the man again, carrying his spade and a small case, and again he disappeared behind the copse. The woman mentioned this to her husband, who said he was probably a farmer or gamekeeper setting traps, or performing some other country practice that would be perfectly normal, and so not to worry. However after several more sightings of the young man with the spade over the next two weeks the woman persuaded her husband to take a stroll - early, before the man tended to arrive - to the copse of trees to investigate what he was doing.

There they found a surprisingly long and deep trench, rough and uneven at one end, becoming much neater and tidier towards the other end. And the case - it's got my lunch in it. On hearing one of his students use the expression, "I don't know nothing about it The teacher explained, "In the English language a double negative makes the statement positive, so your assertion that you 'don't know nothing about it' is actually an admission that you do know something about it.

Encouraged by the interest in this revelation among certain class members, the teacher went on to demonstrate more of his knowledge of world languages: "Of course not all languages operate according to the same grammatical rules, for example, in Russian, a double negative remains negative, although perhaps surprisingly, there is not a single language anywhere in the world in which a double positive makes a negative.. This is adapted from a story sent to me by M Morris. Apparently the original story was based on a true incident at a Modern Language Association meeting in New York in the mid's, reported in the NY Times. The quick-witted response in the original story, actually "Yeah, yeah.. Thanks M Morris, Apr Given the title on the subject of buckets..

The story illustrates lateral thinking, narrow-mindedness, the risks of making assumptions, and judging people and situations:. Should I check when there's a bed free for you? The staff at an old people's home were puzzled when one of the residents began gargling with TCP. They asked her why but all she would say was that something had happened at the post-office. This is what actually occurred. She bought a stamp, and since there was a long queue behind her she stepped aside.

She put her change in her purse, licked the stamp and put it on her letter. Despite pressing and thumping and licking it again, the stamp failed to stick. The old lady put on her spectacles, fiddled for a few seconds to peel off the backing paper - and then licked the stamp again. They are self-sticking. They save time. They are already sticky. Thanks Stephen Rafe for the original tale from which the above was adapted.

Stephen also provided another example of confused customer service communications, in which the customer was convinced for a while that the customer service person was somehow carrying on his work from inside prison, because the bad line was due to him speaking from his cell-phone.. By December more than 17, British troops were officially diagnosed as suffering from nervous or mental disability we'd say shell-shock or post-traumatic stress disorder these days , despite which the British military authorities continued to charge and convict sufferers with 'cowardice' and 'desertion', and to sentence to death by firing squad many of those found 'guilty'.

On 16 August the British government announced that it would pardon British soldiers who were shot by firing squad for 'cowardice' and 'desertion' during the First World War of The decision was ratified by Parliament on 7 November , and represented a remarkable u-turn by this and previous governments who had always firmly refuted any evidence and justification for pardoning the victims. This reversal followed and was largely due to decades of persistent lobbying and campaigning by organisations and individuals, many being families and descendents of the victims.

It is not easy to imagine their suffering, especially of the widows and parents long since gone, for whom this decision came a lifetime too late. The story emphasises two things: first, that people in authority have a responsibility to behave with integrity. Second, that where people in authority fail to act with integrity, the persistence and determination of ordinary people will eventually force them to do so. Here is more background about the Shot At Dawn campaign, and the history of this particularly shameful example of British institutional behaviour.

It provides lessons to us all about doing the right thing, and calling to account those who do not. See the related discussion ideas for developing awareness and understanding of the issues and how they relate to us all. Some people will not agree with this interpretation. This makes it such an interesting subject for debate, especially in transferring the issues and principles to modern challenges in organisations, and the world beyond. This is a true story. Some years ago a client engaged a consultant to help with a small postal mailing to the purchasing departments of blue chip corporations. The consultant sourced the list which was provided on MSExcel and drafted the letter.

Thereafter the client was keen to take control of the project, ie. The consultant discovered some weeks later that a junior member of the client's marketing department had sorted the list changed the order of the listed organisations in the spreadsheet , but had sorted the company name column only, instead of all columns, with the result that every letter about was addressed and sent to a blue chip corporation at another entirely different corporation's address. Interestingly the mailing produced a particularly high response, which when investigated seemed to stem from the fact that an unusually high percentage of letters were opened and read, due apparently to the irresistible temptation of reading another corporation's mail And I get a bit fed up with all the heaving lifting and carrying, and warding off the mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers, not to mention that bloody snake.

This garden can be dangerous place. He will have many weaknesses and disgusting habits. Man will lie, cheat and behave like an idiot - in fact mostly he'll be a complete pain in the backside. But on the plus side he'll be big and strong, and will be able to protect you, and hunt and kill things, which might be handy sometimes. He will tend to lose control of mind and body when aroused, but with a bit training can reach an acceptable standard in the bedroom department, if you know what I mean. In keeping with his arrogant, deluded, self-important character, Man will naturally believe that he was made first, and frankly we all have better things to do than argue, so you must keep all this a secret between us, if that's okay with you.

You know, woman to woman.. Apple Corps, owned by surviving Beatles McCartney and Starr, lost their case against Apple Computers, in which they sought to prevent the Apple name being used in relation to iTunes music downloads. Due to failed communications, entirely the BBC's fault both Guys were blameless in this , the BBC News 24 staff grabbed the wrong Guy waiting in a different reception to Guy Kewney , who, being an unassuming, foreign and extremely polite fellow, dutifully took his place in the studio, and after declining make-up really , was introduced on live TV to viewers as Guy Kewney, editor of the technology website 'Newswireless', and then asked three questions by the BBC News 24 business presenter Karen Bowerman about the Apple judgements and its implications for internet music downloading.

Guy Goma initially expresses surprise about the interview situation, but, largely due to his broken English and heavy French accent the interviewer interprets and leads Mr Goma's response to mean that he is surprised about the court judgement. If you listen carefully Guy Goma does actually mention his 'interview' in his first answer. See the transcript below. However the pressure of the situation is too great and he has little option other than to play out the role that the fates have created for him. He actually does quite well, given that he knows little about the subject. Subsequent media reports that Guy Goma was a taxi driver are false - he's a business graduate.

He later attended his IT job interview but regrettably was unsuccessful. You can read what Guy Kewney thought of it all on his own blog at www. As mentioned, sadly Guy Kewney has since died, on 8 Apr His blog as at Sep still stands. Please let me know if it ceases to be available. I considered whether to remove or retain this item and obviously I decided to retain it. I never met Guy Kewney. From what I understand he seems to have been a lovely man. The opportunity to say this is part of my decision. Karen Bowerman Well, Guy Kewney is editor of the technology website Newswireless. Guy Goma: Good morning. KB: Were you surprised by this verdict today?

GG: I am very surprised to see When I came they told me something else and I am coming. Got an interview KB: A big surprise, yes, yes. GG: Actually, if you go everywhere you are gonna see a lot of people downloading to internet and the website everything they want. But I think, is much better for development and to empower people what they want and to get on the easy way and so faster if they are looking for. KB: This does really seem the way the music industry's progressing now, that people want to go onto the website and download music. GG: Exactly. You can go everywhere on the cyber cafe and you can take [maybe 'check'? It's going to be very easy way for everyone to get something to the internet.

Thanks very much indeed. A very old lady looked in the mirror one morning. She had three remaining hairs on her head, and being a positive soul, she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today. Some days later, looking in the mirror one morning, preparing for her day, she saw that she had only two hairs remaining. I fancy a centre parting today. A week or so later, she saw that she had just one hair left on her head. I won't have to waste time doing my hair any more.. A wealthy businessman who is used to getting his own way finds himself sharing a sleeper compartment with a beautiful young woman as they travel to Brussells on the train.

It is winter and the heating is not working so the compartment is cold. Or maybe we could pretend to be man and wife for tonight?.. There is the story of William Pitt, , British statesman and Prime Minister from , who once sought to expedite a crucial agreement in Parliament for the movement of the British fleet to defend against the French. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Newcastle, had certain objections, but when Pitt called on the Chancellor endeavouring to resolve the differences, he found the Chancellor distinctly unhappy in bed suffering with gout.

The bedroom was freezing, and when Pitt remarked on this, Lord Newcastle replied that the cold weather would hinder the fleet movement, but more particularly that the combination of the cold conditions and the gout would prevent any further discussion of the issue at that time, which Pitt quickly judged to be at the root of the problem. Begging the Chancellor's pardon, Pitt calmly removed his boots, climbed into bed and drew up the covers apparently there was another bed in the room.. Some years ago the following exchange was broadcast on an Open University sociology TV programme.

An interviewer was talking to a female production-line worker in a biscuit factory. The dialogue went like this:. Production Lady: I take packets of biscuits off the conveyor belt and put them into cardboard boxes. Production Lady: Oooh Yes, it's great, everyone is so nice and friendly, we have a good laugh. My thanks to Shirley Moon for this lovely story, who also points out the following lessons within it:. See also the sections on personality styles, multiple intelligence and learning styles, and motivation, which all relate to this story. Of course this story is a bit far-fetched given that an egg timer lasts for three whole minutes.. The story goes that a prominent, married, philandering, wealthy politician took advantage of a young female Italian translator during an overseas visit.

Shortly after his return home he received a phone call at his office from the woman informing him that she was pregnant and that he was definitely the father. Seemingly experienced at dealing with such situations, the politician instructed the young woman, "I will arrange for you and the child to be provided for. Do not worry about money. I will pay ten times the typical Italian settlement, but this must be kept secret. He went on, "Don't ever call me again. Send me a postcard with some sort of coded message confirming date of birth, that the child is healthy and whether a boy or girl.

Use your imagination - you are a translator after all. A little under nine months later the politician's wife who was also his PA was opening his mail. When she came to a particular postcard the politician noticed and suddenly became attentive. One afternoon, an old lady, laden with shopping, noticed two small boys on the front step of a house. With their bags and uniforms they were obviously going home after school.

They were on tip-toe trying to reach the door-bell with a stick. The surprised boys turned around and screamed "Quick, run! A tale is told about the Buddha, Gautama BC , the Indian prince and spiritual leader whose teachings founded Buddhism. This short story illustrates that every one of us has the choice whether or not to take personal offence from another person's behaviour. It is said that on an occasion when the Buddha was teaching a group of people, he found himself on the receiving end of a fierce outburst of abuse from a bystander, who was for some reason very angry. The Buddha listened patiently while the stranger vented his rage, and then the Buddha said to the group and to the stranger, "If someone gives a gift to another person, who then chooses to decline it, tell me, who would then own the gift?

The giver or the person who refuses to accept the gift? By our personal response to the abuse from another, we can choose who owns and keeps the bad feelings. Mohandas [Mahatma] Karamchand Gandhi , the great Indian statesman and spiritual leader is noted for his unusual humanity and selflessness, which this story epitomises. Gandhi was boarding a train one day with a number of companions and followers, when his shoe fell from his foot and disappeared in the gap between the train and platform. Unable to retrieve it, he took off his other shoe and threw it down by the first. Responding to the puzzlement of his fellow travellers, Gandhi explained that a poor person who finds a single shoe is no better off - what's really helpful is finding a pair.

Separately, Gandhi was once asked what he thought of Western Civilisation. Gandhi replied: "I think that it would be a very good idea. Great Garbo , the 's Swedish-born film star, demonstrated how to negotiate with a bullying adversary, and particularly the tactic of 'walking away'. After Garbo had become established as a major star, she decided to negotiate a contract that suitably reflected her considerable box-office value to the producers. Garbo replied simply, in her Swedish-American accent, "I think I go home.. Garbo returned to her hotel and stayed there, not budging, while Mayer stewed - for seven months - at which Mayer eventually caved in and gave Garbo what she asked for.

Interestingly Garbo never actually said, "I want to be alone". There phrase was in fact "I want to be left alone," which her character Grusinskaya said in Garbo's film Grand Hotel. The resonance of the words with Garbo's real life didn't just extend to her negotiating style: she retired in with the world still at her feet, and lived the rest of her life an obsessive recluse in New York after becoming a US citizen in The notorious American Wild West bank robber Jesse James was hunted and demonised by the authorities, but was held in high regard by many ordinary folk.

Here's an example of why:. The story goes that Jesse James and his gang had taken refuge for a few days in ramshackle farmhouse after one of their raids. The old widow who lived there fed the men, and apologised for her modest offerings and the poor state of the accommodation. While the gang laid low, they learned from the widow that she faced eviction from her landlord and was expecting a visit from his debt collector any day. Taking pity on the old lady, as they left, the gang gave her some of the spoils of their robbery to settle her debt - several hundred dollars, which was a small fortune in those days. The gang moved on, but only to a nearby copse, where for a couple more days they watched and waited for the arrival - and departure - of the debt collector, whom they promptly held up and robbed.

A zoo had among its animals a female gorilla, whose mood was becoming increasingly difficult. The vet concluded that she was on heat and that a mate should be found. The vet contacted some other nearby zoos to find a partner for the broody female,but to no avail. The female gorilla's behaviour continued to worsen, but the vet noticed that she grew calmer, and strangely responsive, whenever a particularly well-built and none-too-handsome keeper entered the enclosure.

Being an unprincipled and adventurous fellow, the vet put an outrageous proposition to the keeper: For a fee of five hundred pounds would the keeper consider spending a little 'quality time' with the gorilla, purely in the interests of research of course? The keeper, also an unprincipled and adventurous fellow, pondered the suggestion, and after a few minutes agreed to the offer, subject to three conditions.

The vet, intrigued, listened to the keeper's demands:. After twenty-five years in the same parish, Father O'Shaunessey was saying his farewells at his retirement dinner. An eminent member of the congregation - a leading politician - had been asked to make a presentation and a short speech, but was late arriving. That first confession remains the worst I've ever heard. The chap confessed that he'd stolen a TV set from a neighbour and lied to the police when questioned, successfully blaming it on a local scallywag. He said that he'd stolen money from his parents and from his employer; that he'd had affairs with several of his friends' wives; that he'd taken hard drugs, and had slept with his sister and given her VD.

You can imagine what I thought However I'm pleased to say that as the days passed I soon realised that this sad fellow was a frightful exception and that this parish was indeed a wonderful place full of kind and decent people At this point the politician arrived and apologised for being late, and keen to take the stage, he immediately stepped up to the microphone and pulled his speech from his pocket:. A school head was alerted by the caretaker to a persistent problem in the girls lavatories: some of the girl students were leaving lipstick kisses on the mirrors.

The caretaker had left notices on the toilet walls asking for the practice to cease, but to no avail; every evening the caretaker would wipe away the kisses, and the next day lots more kisses would be planted on the mirror. It had become a bit of a game. The head teacher usually took a creative approach to problem solving, and so the next day she asked a few girl representatives from each class to meet with her in the lavatory. We have therefore had to develop a special cleaning regime, and my hope is that when you see the effort involved you will help spread the word that we'd all be better off if those responsible for the kisses use tissue paper instead of the mirrors in future..

At this point the caretaker stepped forward with a sponge squeegee, which he took into one of the toilet cubicles, dipped into the toilet bowl, and then used to clean one of the lipstick-covered mirrors. The caretaker smiled. The girls departed. And there were no more lipstick kisses on the mirrors. Three statisticians went hunting in the woods. Before long, one of them pointed to a plump pigeon in a tree, and the three of them stopped and took aim.

The first fired, missing the bird by a couple of inches to the left. Immediately afterwards the second fired, but also missed, a couple of inches to the right. The third put down his gun exclaiming, "Great shooting lads, on average I reckon we got it At the same time, the main message and purpose of the story is to highlight tendencies of some people to show poor or no regard for the misfortunes or disabilities of others, and in this context the story has a value if used carefully. Neverthess be very cautious how you use this story. A clergyman, a doctor and a business consultant were playing golf together one day and were waiting for a particularly slow group ahead. The business consultant exclaimed, "What's with these people?

We've been waiting over half and hour! It's a complete disgrace. They're surely too slow and useless to be playing, aren't they? They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime. The clergyman said, "Oh dear, that's so sad. I shall say some special prayers for them tonight. I'll get in touch with an ophthalmic surgeon friend of mine to see if there's anything that can be done for them. Other job-titles can be substituted instead of business consultant to suit the purpose of the story, for example, government advisor, venture capitalist, engineer, project manager, accountant, finance director, quality manager, etc. I am assured this is a true story. A consultant was asked to give a talk at a sales conference.

The CEO asks him to focus on the importance of cooperation and teamwork between the sales and marketing teams, since neither group has a particularly high regard for the other, and the lack of cohesion and goodwill is hampering effectiveness and morale. The marketing staff constantly moan about the sales people 'doing their own thing' and 'failing to follow central strategy'; and the sales people say that the marketing people are all 'idle theorists who waste their time at exhibitions and agency lunches' and have 'never done a decent day's work in their lives'.

Being a lover of rugby, the consultant decides to use the analogy of a rugby team's forwards and backs working together to achieve the best team performance:. So, just as in the game of rugby, the forwards , like the marketing department, do the initial work to create the platform and to make the opportunities , and then pass the ball out to the backs , the sales department, who then use their skills and energy to score the tries.

The forwards and the backs , just like marketing and sales , are each good at what they do: and they work together so that the team wins The audience seemed to respond positively, and the conference broke for lunch. At the bar the consultant asked one of the top sales-people what he'd thought of the analogy - had it given him food for thought? The sales people - the backs, yes? We work together as a team - each playing our own part - working as a team. The consultant beamed and nodded enthusiastically, only to be utterly dashed when the salesman added as an afterthought, "I still think our forwards are a bunch of wankers A British family were on holiday in a rented motor-home in the USA.

Mid-afternoon, halfway through what was turning out to be a most enjoyable day at the park, Mum, Dad and the three kids came upon a particularly steep plummeting ride. In the queue, the ride attendants strongly warned everyone about the risks of losing hats, spectacles, coins and keys, etc. During the ride, Dad lost the keys. Due to the fact that the motor-home was a replacement vehicle resulting from a breakdown earlier in the holiday, there were no spare keys. And there were six keys on the lost bunch: ignition, front doors, side door, fuel tank, propane tank, and storage cupboards. The park attendants drove the family back to the motor-home, suggesting the least damaging ways to break into it.

Fortunately a window had been left slightly open, enabling the middle son to be put in and to open the doors from the inside. Middle son all of six years old said he'd got a key - said he'd found it - but no-one was listening properly. Not thinking for one second that little lad's key would fit, Dad tried it. Incredibly the key fitted the ignition - and the driver's door. Middle son is a hero. It seems he'd found the key in a cupboard when packing his clothes soon after the motor-homes were swapped after the first vehicle broke down. The locksmith looked at the motor-home, and said he'd try. The family went to the nearby shops and a coffee bar to pass the time. Dad returned to the locksmith to see how things were going. The locksmith says he thought he could make new keys for all the locks, but it would be a long job.

In fact the job took the locksmith most of the day. The family hung around the locksmiths, visited the shops again, and generally made a day of being at the little shopping centre. While working on the locks and the keys, the locksmith talked with the family about England, about America, about the rides at Las Vegas, about motor-homes, about business, about locks, about families and kids, about lots of things. Late on in the afternoon the locksmith said that he'd nearly done - "But you have time to go get something to eat if you want.

When you come back I'll be done. An hour later the family returned to the locksmith's shop. It was 4pm and they'd been at the shopping centre since When Dad entered the locksmith's shop the locksmith was smiling. He put two new gleaming bunches of keys on the counter. It happened over ten years ago. I still tell people about it now, like I'm telling you. This little company gave me and my family an experience that transcended customer service, and I was delighted when I found their business card in my kitchen drawer the other day, because it prompted me to share this story and to properly express my thanks.

Just a final note - I'm not suggesting that great customer service is about giving your products and services away. Obviously that's not a particularly sustainable business model. What I'm saying though, is that there are times when you'll see opportunity to do something really special for a customer, or for another human being, and when you do it, the ripples of your 'good pebble' can stretch around the world, and last for years and years. So, within the boundaries of what's possible and viable for you, drop in a good pebble whenever you can and make some ripples of your own. At the airport after a tiring business trip a lady's return flight was delayed.

She went to the airport shop, bought a book, a coffee and a small packet containing five gingernut biscuits. The airport was crowded and she found a seat in the lounge, next to a stranger. After a few minutes' reading she became absorbed in her book. She took a biscuit from the packet and began to drink her coffee. To her great surprise, the stranger in the next seat calmly took one of the biscuits and ate it. Stunned, she couldn't bring herself to say anything, nor even to look at the stranger. Nervously she continued reading. After a few minutes she slowly picked up and ate the third biscuit.

Incredibly, the stranger took the fourth gingernut and ate it, then to the woman's amazement, he picked up the packet and offered her the last biscuit. This being too much to tolerate, the lady angrily picked up her belongings, gave the stranger an indignant scowl and marched off to the boarding gate, where her flight was now ready. Flustered and enraged, she reached inside her bag for her boarding ticket, and found her unopened packet of gingernuts Adapted from a suggestion submitted by S Frost. Apparently the story appears in a variety of urban legends dating from at least 30 years ago, and is also described in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, book four, , 'So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish'.

Ack L Baldock. When a business fails or struggles in some other way people commonly look for recent tactical or incidental causes, but the roots of failure are usually far deeper in foundational strategies, structures and philosophies. The poor performance of the England football team at the FIFA World Cup offers an example of a venture inflicted with fundamental problems, and therefore likely to fail. Here are some indicators as at FIFA World Cup of foundational weakness and vulnerability in the basic organization and ethos of the England national football effort.

Think of it like a business. Success is difficult when foundations are flaky and misaligned. The English Premiership England's top domestic league and effectively the pool from which the national team is selected is dominated by clubs which are:. The leadership of the Football Association, guardian of England's national game, has for some years been chaotic and disjointed, indicators being:. A national football team is in many ways like a business. It needs solid strategic and philosophical foundations. Misalignment at a basic level eventually produces problems at the level of tactical or operational implementation.

Like a national football team, if a business fails at a tactical or operational level, the causes - and therefore the solutions - are generally much deeper than they seem. While transporting some unfortunate mental patients from one secure place to another, the newly appointed bus driver stopped at a roadside restaurant for natural break. On his return to the bus, all twenty patients were gone. Being a resourceful fellow and fearing the consequences of his negligence, he drove to the next bus stop, where he claimed to be a replacement for the usual service.

Allowing twenty people aboard, the driver made straight for his destination, where he warned staff at the gates that the 'patients' were deluded and extremely volatile. The angry 'patients' were duly removed, sedated and incarcerated, and remained in detention for three days, until staff were able to check the records and confirm their true identities. The actual patients were never found.

A new hotel employee was asked to clean the elevators and report back to the supervisor when the task was completed. When the employee failed to appear at the end of the day the supervisor assumed that like many others he had simply not liked the job and left. However, after four days the supervisor bumped into the new employee. He was cleaning in one of the elevators.

A man and his wife had been arguing all night, and as bedtime approached neither was speaking to the other. It was not unusual for the pair to continue this war of silence for two or three days, however, on this occasion the man was concerned; he needed to be awake at am the next morning to catch an important flight, and being a very heavy sleeper he normally relied on his wife to wake him.

Cleverly, so he thought, while his wife was in the bathroom, he wrote on a piece of paper: 'Please wake me at am - I have an important flight to catch'. He put the note on his wife's pillow, then turned over and went to sleep. The man awoke the next morning and looked at the clock. It was am. Enraged that he'd missed his flight, he was about to go in search of his errant wife to give her a piece of his mind, when he spotted a hand-written note on his bedside cabinet. A retired sergeant major inherited a talking parrot from a recently departed relative who had run a busy dockside pub. For the first few days in his new home the normally talkative parrot was distinctly shy.

The old major, despite his stern and disciplined ways, felt sorry for the bird, and gently encouraged it with soft words and pieces of fruit. After a week or so the parrot began to find its voice - a little at first - and then more so. Responding to the kind treatment, the parrot's vocabulary continued to recover, including particularly the many colourful expressions it had been taught in the dockside pub. The old sergeant major began to be quite irritated by the parrot's incessant rudeness, and after a few more days of worsening profanities, decided action was required to bring the bird under control. The sergeant major tried at first to incentivise the parrot with the promise of reward for good behaviour, but to no avail.

He next tried to teach the bird a lesson by withdrawing its privileges, again to no avail; the parrot remained stubbornly rude. Finally the old major flipped into battleground management mode; he grabbed the bird, clamped his hands around its beak, and thrust the struggling, swearing parrot, into the top drawer of the freezer, slamming the door tightly shut. The swearing and struggling noises continued inside the freezer for a few seconds and then abruptly stopped. The sergeant major listened for a while and then, concerned that the parrot's shock might have been terminal, carefully opened the freezer door and opened the drawer to look.

The parrot slowly clambered out of the drawer and perched on its edge. And by the way, what did the turkey do? This widely used story is often told as if it's a true story. It is most certainly not. It is an urban legend, but even as such, the story contains great lessons and is very inspirational. Fleming was a poor Scottish farmer. One day at work in a field he heard a cry for help. Following the sound, Fleming came to a deep bog, in which a boy was stuck up to his chest, screaming and sinking.

Farmer Fleming tied a rope around his own waist and the other end to a tree, and waded into the bog. After a mighty struggle in which it seemed they would both perish, the exhausted farmer pulled himself and the boy to safety. He took the lad back to the farmhouse, where Mrs Fleming fed him, dried his clothes, and when satisfied he had recovered, sent him on his way home. The next day a carriage arrived at the Fleming's humble farmhouse. An well-dressed man stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy whom Fleming had saved. Let me pay for his education. If he's like his father, he'll grow to be a man we'll both be proud of.

And so he did. The farmer's son attended the very best schools, graduated medical college, and later became the world-renowned nobel prize-winning scientist and discoverer of penicillin, Sir Alexander Fleming. It is said that many years later, the grown man who'd been saved from the bog as a boy, was stricken with pneumonia. I repeat this is an urban legend - it is not a true story - so I recommend you present it as such when you tell it. Ack B McFarlane. It has been suggested to me that this is a true story: A very old traditional brewery decided to install a new canning line, so as to enable its beer products to be marketed through the supermarket sector. This represented a major change for the little company, and local dignitaries and past employees were invited to witness the first running of the new canning line, which was followed by an buffet and drinks.

After the new line had been switched on successfully, and the formalities completed, the guests relaxed in small groups to chat and enjoy the buffet. In a quiet corner stood three men discussing trucks and transport and distribution, since one was the present distribution manager, and the other two were past holders of the post, having retired many years ago. The three men represented three generations of company distribution management, spanning over sixty years. The present distribution manager confessed that his job was becoming more stressful because company policy required long deliveries be made on Monday and Tuesday, short deliveries on Fridays, and all other deliveries mid-week.

The third man nodded, and was thinking hard, struggling to recall the policy's roots many years ago when he'd have been a junior in the despatch department. After a pause, the third man smiled and then ventured a suggestion. During the Second World War fuel rationing was introduced. So we mothballed the trucks and went back to using the horses. On Mondays the horses were well-rested after the weekend - hence the long deliveries.

By Friday the horses so tired they could only handle the short local drops The boards of the two fiercely competitive companies decided to organize a rowing match to challenge each other's organisational and sporting abilities. The first company was strongly 'theory X': ruthless, autocratic, zero staff empowerment, etc. The second company was more 'theory y': a culture of developing people, devolved responsibility and decision-making. Race day arrived. The Y company's boat appeared from the boat-house first, with its crew: eight rowers and a helmsman the cox. Next followed the X company boat and its crew - eight helmsmen and a single rower. The next day the X company board of directors held an inquest with the crew, to review what had been learned from the embarrassing defeat, which might be of benefit to the organization as a whole, and any future re-match.

After a long and wearing meeting the X company board finally came came to their decision. They concluded that the rower should be replaced immediately because clearly he had not listened well enough to the instructions he'd been given. Following a poor first-half year performance the board of Company X tasked a senior manager to investigate what was happening on the factory floor, since the directors believed poor productivity was at the root of the problem. While walking around the plant, the investigating manager came upon a large warehouse area where a man stood next to a pillar.

The manager introduced himself as the person investigating performance on the factory floor, appointed by the board, and then asked the man by the pillar what he was doing. The investigator thanked the man for his cooperation and encouraged him to keep up the good work. The investigator next walked into a large packing area, where he saw another man standing next to a pillar. The investigator again introduced himself and asked the man what he was doing. Two weeks later the investigator completed his report and duly presented his findings to the board, who held a brief meeting to decide remedial action. The board called the investigator back into the room, thanked him for his work, and then instructed him to sack one of the men he'd found standing by pillars, since obviously this was a duplication of effort.

Five minutes later he called the reception desk and said: "You've given me a room with no exit. How do I leave? The man said, "Well, there's one door that leads to the bathroom. There's a second door that goes into the closet. And there's a door I haven't tried, but it has a 'do not disturb' sign on it. An elderly couple, married for sixty years, took a rare vacation. They were not well-off but were in good health, perhaps because the wife had insisted on a strict diet of healthy foods, no alcohol, no smoking, and lots of gym exercise for most of their lives.

Sadly their plane crashed however, and duly they both entered heaven, where St Peter escorted them through the Pearly Gates, and into a waiting limousine. Driving through beautiful countryside they drew up at a beautiful mansion and were shown inside. It was furnished in gold and fine silks, with a splendid kitchen and a sumptuous lounge stocked with wonderful food and drink - there was even a waterfall in the master bathroom. A maid was hanging beautiful designer clothes in the walk-in wardrobes. They gasped in astonishment when St Peter said, "Welcome to heaven. This will be your home now. The old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. Next they went to the clubhouse and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with every imaginable cuisine laid out before them.

Anticipating the old man's next question, St Peter said, "Don't ask, this is heaven, it is all free for you to enjoy. The old man looked around and glanced nervously at his wife. You can eat and drink as much as you like, and you will never get fat or sick. The old man glared at his wife, "You and your bloody bran muffins. We could have been here ten years ago! Two sons work for their father on the family's farm. The younger brother had for some years been given more responsibility and reward, and one day the older brother asks his father to explain why.

The father says, "First, go to the Kelly's farm and see if they have any geese for sale - we need to add to our stock. The father asks the older brother to wait and listen, and then calls to the younger brother in a nearby field, "Go to the Davidson's Farm and see if they have any geese for sale - we need to add to our stock. The father turned to the older son, who nodded his head in appreciation - he now realised why his brother was given more responsibility and reward.

A mother wished to encourage her small girl's interest in the piano and so took her a local concert featuring an excellent pianist. In the entrance foyer the mother met an old friend and the two stopped to talk. The little girl was keen to see inside the hall and so wandered off, unnoticed by her mother. The girl's mother became concerned when she entered the hall and could see no sign of her daughter. Staff were notified and an announcement was made asking the audience to look out for the little lost girl. With the concert due to start, the little girl had still not been found.

In preparation for the pianist's entrance, the curtains drew aside, to reveal the little girl sitting at the great piano, focused in concentration, quietly picking out the notes of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star'. The audience's amusement turned to curiosity when the pianist entered the stage, walked up to the little girl, and said "Keep playing. The pianist sat down beside her, listened for a few seconds, and whispered some more words of encouragement. He then began quietly to play a bass accompaniment, and then a few bars later reached around the little girl to add more accompaniment. At the end of the impromptu performance the audience applauded loudly as the pianist took the little girl back to her seat to be reunited with her mother. The experience was inspirational for everyone, not least the small girl.

It takes just a few moments to make somebody's day, to help someone with their own personal aims and dreams - especially someone who looks up to you for encouragement and support. Allegedly a true story from the old airport in Denver: a major airline had cancelled a very busy flight and a lone check-in agent is busy trying to sort out all the displaced passengers. A very angry and aggressive man barges his way to the front of the queue to confront her. He says says that he is flying first class and demands to go on the flight. The agent politely explains the situation and asks that people take their place in the queue. The man bellows at her, "Do you know who I am? If anyone can come and identify him please do so.

A small boy was auditioning with his classmates for a school play. His mother knew that he'd set his heart on being in the play - just like all the other children hoped too - and she feared how he would react if he was not chosen. On the day the parts were awarded, the little boy's mother went to the school gates to collect her son. The little lad rushed up to her, eyes shining with pride and excitement. I am assured this is a true story from a UK bank.

The bank concerned had introduced a charge to be levied when people paid in money to be credited to an account held by a different bank. The charge was 50p and had been in force for about 6 months or so. A well to do, upper-class lady enters the bank and presents the cashier a cheque check which she asks to be paid into an account held by a different bank. The cashier duly tells the lady that there will be a charge of 50p. Indignantly, she tells him, "I wasn't charged the last time. A little girl was watching her mother prepare a fish for dinner. Her mother cut the head and tail off the fish and then placed it into a baking pan.

The little girl asked her mother why she cut the head and tail off the fish. Her mother thought for a while and then said, "I've always done it that way - that's how babicka Czech for grandma did it.

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