Have a difficult boss, partner or employee? Are they stubborn and unwilling to listen?
Instead of confronting them and telling them what they are doing wrong, use a story.
As an example, look at the story of Old Joe, a country farmer.
Old Joe was a farmer with a neighbor who lived across from him for years and years. Their families grew up together and their wives died about the same time, so Joe and his neighbor had only each other. Often the words they spoke would be the only words they said all day, until one afternoon when they spied a calf outside the window. The neighbor said “Hey, look at my calf out there.” Joe replied “Any fool can see from the markings that the calf is mine.” They began to argue until cruel words ended in silence.
Months turned into years, but words were never spoken.
One day a traveling carpenter knocked on Joe’s door. He needed work and looked decent enough, so Joe invited him in. After giving him soup and a bit of bread, Joe said “See that creek over there? It’s wasn’t there yesterday. My damned fool neighbor built it. He took a plow, dug a ditch and flooded it, just to spite me. ” The carpenter nodded. Joe said “I have a job for you. I want you to build fence — a really high one — so I never have to look at this fool again.” The carpenter replied “I think I can do a job that will make you happy.” He and Joe agreed that the next day, the carpenter would take the wood and build a fence while Joe spent the day in town.
The next morning, Joe hitched his wagon to the horses and headed into town early. It was late and the sun was setting when Joe headed home. As he crested a hill, he saw what the carpenter had done. Instead of a fence, he had built a bridge across the creek. Furious, Joe whipped his horses to hurry.
As Joe arrived, he started to climb down to give the carpenter a piece of his mind. But before he could, the neighbor crossed the bridge and gave him a big hug. “Joe, you are a bigger man than I am. I’d never have had the courage to build a bridge. I reckon that calf was probably yours after all. Can you forgive me?” Joe hugged him back and whispered “Nothing to forgive.” and glanced at the carpenter, who winked and smiled at him. Joe asked the carpenter to stay around, but he said he had other work to do.
From The Story Factor, by Annette Simmons
Instead of confrontation, tell a story like Old Joe. They’ll get the message.
What do you think? We love comments and people who share.
Jeff Ogden is President of Find New Customers “Lead Generation Made Simple” Check out the online show every Friday at 11am ET, “Laugh and Learn with the Fearless Competitor.” Find New Customers is one of few lead generation companies in New York.
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