The Heron Story - Maldives

On the scenic island of Maakana Fushi in the Maldives, a heron was standing on the beach when suddenly his dropping was washed away by the sea. 'Hey sea!', he shouted, 'why do you take away my turd, it's mine'. The sea was surprised, but answered: 'Well bird, it's true I took your dropping, but I will give you a wave in stead'.
Splash! The bird took on the wave and settled down on the beach. Not far from him a group of fisherman were trying to push their boat into the sea. This upset the heron. 'Where is my wave?', he demanded to know. The fishermen admitted: 'Yes, we used it, but instead we shall give you a fish.

Wack! The fisherman slapped the fish on the wet sand, and the heron took it in his beak. He sat down a group of youngsters enjoying himself while making music. They had been playing drums for hours, and were hungry. 'Hey guys, look', said one, 'that bird has a fish. Let's take it and make fishcakes (bokibaa). And of course, the heron complained again: 'That is my fish you took!'.

Image: Susil Sri Creations

In exchange, the youngsters gave the heron an old drum. The bird was now very keen to hide the object so that nobody would take it away from him. He flew onto the highest branch of the tree, and started playing the old drum.

Dah-dam, dah-dam, dah-dam.
He played so enthusiastically that he fell off the tree and broke his neck...the old drum laying next to him.

Questions:

• What do you think of the heron's behavior?
• What is the difference between the heron's actions and those of the fishermen and the youngsters?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of both actions?

Management Link

This is very well known story in the Maldives, a country made up of thousand of small islands.
The heron was behaving like a person from an individualistic culture, with a deep-rooted sense of personal property in an environment of collective sense of property (the sea, the fishermen, the youngsters). When the heron asked his share he got it, but this put him on a separate track; a fatal one in this case. He probably could have shared the commonly owned waves, the fish and music for everybody's benefit, even his own.

For people from more individualistic cultures the sense of collectivity is often difficult to grasp and appreciate. Striving for individual goals and personal ambitions is seen as effective and is highly valued. This simple story shows that core values of collectivity are very relevant for teams working in organizations. While the fisherman and the musicians were acting collectively, the heron was more concerned about his own goals and achievements. Eventually, he was left out.
A good manager strives for a balance between the individual and collective goals of the team.

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