By Rich Bond
When I was a kid, I loved to hear and read “Aesop’s Fables.” Those brief stories gave me a lot of insight into human behavior and in how to lead a good and prosperous life.
Recently, it occurred to me that some of the fables still contain good guidance for business owners and leaders. Take the one about “The Mouse and the Lion.” In that story, a mouse wakes up a sleeping lion by walking across his face. The mouse saves himself by promising the lion that if he lets him go, that he (the mouse) will one day repay the favor. The lion chuckled. Well, hunters caught the lion in a big net, and when the mouse heard the lion’s roar, he ran over and chewed through the ropes, letting the lion free. Even someone small and seemingly insignificant can make a huge difference.
To me, business owners, leaders, and entrepreneurs are like the lion. Big and powerful. But sometimes, their businesses can get trapped or ensnarled in situations that seem beyond their control. How did this happen? That’s when a seemingly insignificant function like finance can unleash the business and its leader from their bounds and actually help free up cash and ignite new growth. I’ve seen this happen many times over my years as a financial recruiter.
What do you think? Have you any stories to share that are similar in nature? Email me at Richard.bond@bondandcompany.com.
I am planning on posting a series of stories or fables of how finance has worked in unforeseen ways to enable greater success in large, medium, and small business.
