FIRM STRATEGIES
Te In Box By Ronald A. McKenzie
This is an ongoing story of encounters between the King, everyone’s favorite owner; his architect, Slide Rule; and his contractor, Igor. Characters are
inspired in part by Gary Larson’s Far Side. Slide Rule, owner of Building Blocks Inc., the
No. 1 architect working on the castle, walked into the room and literally slumped down on to a stool. “You look beat,” said the jubilant King. The very dejected Slide looked up at the
happy King. “It’s easy for you to be happy. You’re the King and everything is done for you. As for me, I have to do everything myself, and I have all these problems and things I need to get done. I get overwhelmed to the point I can’t move.” “Just ignore everything,” stated Igor, owner of
Moat Designs Ltd., a general contractor. “That’s what I do.” “Igor, that’s why you’re in such a financial
mess,” said the King. “Thanks for reminding me.” The King started to pace. That was not a
good sign. “Why don’t the two of you pull up some
chairs and listen to my wisdom. My Master Class is now in session.” “I can’t do that,” said Slide. “I’ve got too
much to do and not enough time to do it.” “Right,” said Igor. “I agree with Slide. You, the
King, have nothing to worry about. And besides, as Slide pointed out, everything is done for you.” “Really, is that what you think?” Igor and Slide exchanged glances, and then
both nodded their heads in agreement. “OK,” the King said thoughtfully. “I’ll tell you
what, I’m going to brief you on what’s on my plate and how I manage it. This is valuable for everyone, but particularly those in the construction industry as there are so many details you must be respon- sible for. However, you must promise not to tell anyone, as these are the Kings’ secrets, and if you did, the consequences would be dire.” “We understand,” replied Slide for both him
and Igor. “OK. First of all, the neighboring King has
8 METAL ARCHITECTURE June 2012
www.metalarchitecture.com
sent a messenger to me that if we don’t abandon the cornfields to the north, he’s going to attack our castle and tear it down to the ground. Also, I got word through another messenger that there has been an outbreak of an unknown disease to the west of us, and it seems to be traveling in this direc- tion. It’s literally killing people right and left. Last night the horses got out from the stable, and these were some of the best trained war horses we have. If we don’t get them back, we’re going to be very vulnerable to an attack. On top of that, there hasn’t been a good storm for quite some time, and if we don’t get any rain, it could be considered a drought, and that will impact our winter food supply. Oh, and one more thing, one of my Knights heard that sev- eral Squires are unhappy, and are gearing up for an internal revolt. If I don’t address that, and everything else, I’m going to be in big trouble. There’s more, but I won’t burden you with the details.” Slide and Igor looked at the King in silence with
eyes like owls. They both realized that they had nothing on their plate compared to the burden the King was carrying. “How do you remain so happy and in control?”
asked Slide. “You’re always conveying to us a very confident outlook on life. How can you do that with those kinds of burdens, that in fact, will impact all of us?”
“The answer is very simple, and you can use
the same technique that I do to manage all of the stuff of life.” “But your stuff of life is really a lot more than
the things we carry around with us. I had no idea.” “So, what’s the secret?” asked Igor. “The secret is in a book authored by James
Clavell, called ‘Noble House.’ It’s about big business in Hong Kong in the ‘60s, and focuses on seven days in the life of the tai-pan, Ian Dunross, the leader of the Noble House. When asked how he manages his burdens, Dunross explained ‘… that the only way to
deal with problems was the Asian way: to put them into individual compartments and take them up only when ready for them.’ He went on to say that ‘If you can’t you’ll go under—ulcers, heart attack, old before your time, your health broken.’” Slide and Igor sat there in silence. The King continued. “What Clavell was saying
through his character Ian Dunross was that you must free up your mind of your everyday burdens. Literally, visualize yourself putting them in a box, and locking them up. When you need to address them, take them down and do what you have to do. You get what you think about, so don’t think about the bad stuff.” “So you’re saying, if you carry them around with
you, you’ll become like Slide. He’s so overwhelmed he doesn’t know which one to do first. Don’t let your problems get in the way of living.” “Very good Igor. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m
saying.” Slide was impressed. “You’re a good King. Now
I’m worried about all of the other things that are hap- pening in the Kingdom. What else do you have that helps you?” “Joss.”
“Joss” is interpreted as “good fortune” in Hong Kong in the book “Noble House.”
With the exception of an occasional guest
appearance by the author, any similarity to actual events or people living or dead is purely coincidental.
Ronald A. McKenzie is president of COMPASS Consultants Corp., a strategic planning and marketing company specializing in developing business growth. He is a published author and has made nationwide presentations on the subject of strategic planning and marketing. He can be reached at (630) 740-4434 or
ramckenzie.compass@
gmail.com.
Mike Stanfill
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52