September 3rd, 2008
In camp, they told stories
of "heroic" campers or counsellors in the past to the campers
as a way of boosting confidence or strengthening morale.
The same often occurs within
tightly-knit business environments.
"Steve in Marketing
was walking to his car one day when he saw it was stolen. He panicked
and went into a tirade right in the middle of daylight freaking out
about how someone stole his parents' car.
Jackie, his colleague, noticed
something unusual about the entire ordeal; she had seen some guys come
in wearing uniforms similar to the IT company we had hired to fix our
network problem from her 4th-floor office window. She saw them get into
his car without even realizing it was indeed Steve's, figuring it was
one of the IT company's cars.
She called police and by
the end of the day, Steve got his car back. The two are now married
and have a kid on the way. Know what his nickname is? Cousin IT."
The moral of the story?
You have friends in places you never knew existed.
Think how that story would
act as a beacon of hope for someone who has lost something - a possession,
family member, whatever. These stories serve to collate the energies
of everyone by relating a tale that fits into a situation that somehow
acted as a benchmark of support for something of a similar nature.
Needless to say, recounting
tales like the one above do wonders to establishing a tight environment
and bond between coworkers. Stories are what bring people together.
They contribute to the level of performance, dedication each member
gives to oneself and one another; when one person is down, they all
work together to bring them back on their feet. The stories are the
manner by which the healing begins.
When you feel down and out,
or are unsure of how to proceed, take a moment to kick back your feet
and recall a moment in time when your colleagues or even yourself were
in an identical scenario.
The humour and lesson learned
from it will act as that crutch to get you moving again.
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