The Camel Heart - Pakistan

In the former province of Sind there lived a child who always spoke the truth. Even if it would harm him he would never tell a lie. As he grew up to become a wise young man, he was called Gamoo Sachaar (Gamoo the Truthful). On accountof his truthfulness and loyal nature, he was given a post in court.

The governor's advisor, the vizier, was the only one who seemed to be perturbed by Gamoo's rising fame and power. He was afraid he would be asked to relinquish his post in favor of Gamoo. The vizier told the governor that he could prove that Gamoo was untruthful. The governor, curious, decided to allow his adviser one chance.

Image: Susil Sri Creations

Upon his request, Gamoo was asked to take the governor's camels to the garden. Gamoo watched them carefully...when suddenly he noticed a very pretty girl. It was the vizier's daughter. She had been instructed to seduce Gamoo, to entice him to killing on of the camels. 'I am the vizier's daughter, the girl said, 'I am suffering from a dangerous illness', and started sobbing. 'The only way I can be cured is to have the heart of a camel. I shall be yours for ever if you save my life'. Gamoo did not hesitate, he slaughtered the camel and took its heart out. The girl asked him to find some twigs to roast the heart. When Gamoo returned he was nowhere to be found. Gamoo realized he had been cleverly tricked. What explanation could he give to the governor? He had to consult someone. Suppose I tell him a lion attacked the camel, will he believe me? After a moment Gamoo replied himself: 'The governor will want to hunt down the lion, and what if he can not find a trail? No, that is not the way out.'

When the governor found out his favorite camel was dead, he summoned Gamoo to court. Gamoo decided to speak the truth, once again. Everyone was surprised, Gamoo had confessed to killing the camel. The would surely mean his death? There was no proof that the girl had even been there.

But the governor said: 'I have faith in your sincerity. Even in the face of possible death you have not tried to blame someone else. I shall reward you, but I demand to know who the beautiful lady was'. The vizier was visibly shaken when Gamoo pointed his finger at him. The governor had already guessed it, and said: 'Vizier, your daughter had given her word, we call upon you to arrange for their marriage in the next three days'.

Questions

• Who did Gamoo consult after killing the camel?
• Why did he decide to admit he had killed to camel?
• What can you learn from this story from the governor's perspective?
• What can you learn from Gamoo's perspective?

Management Link

Gamoo consulted himself. When we listen too often to what others tell us we risk ignoring our own inner truths and values. As manager we need to be confident enough to know, deep down, the right path to follow.

Managers should encourage their staff to speak the truth, even in difficult situation. An Asian proverb says: If you can't make mistakes, you can't make anything. Human beings are bound to make mistakes; as long as people acknowledge their errors and are willing to learn from them, their honesty should be rewarded. It is the manager's role to create an enabling environment in which people dare to speak the truth.

Sweet as Sugar - Bangladesh

Image: Susil Sri Creations

A mother in Bangladesh was worried about her son's health. The 10-year old boy was overweight and had brown spots on his teeth. All day long he would eat sweets. Five spoons of sugar in his tea, creamy kalojams, delicious katajams, and lots of sponge rosogolla, sweets for whcih Bangladesh is famous. Every day the mother told the boy to cut down on his sweets, but he just wouldn't listen to her.

One day the mother decided to ask for help. She went to see the Mullah with her boy. "My son eats too much sugar, he 's getting fat and I can not afford this", she complained. I ask your lordship to formally forbid hum to eat so much sugar". The Mullah listened attentively, scratched his beard and then told the mother to come back in seven days. When she returned a week later, he told her again to return in seven days. And later he again postponed the meeting by another week, and yet another one. Finally, after four weeks the Mullah summoned the boy.

"Now", he said, I forbid you to east more than three spoons of sugar and two caked per day". The mother was relieved but also puzzled. "Why my lord, did you take so much to give my boy such a simple order?". The Mullah replied: "Because, madam, I had to see whether I myself could cut down on the use of sugar because I could order someone else to do the same..."

Questions

• Why did the mother seek the Mullah's advice?
• What do you think of the Mullah's action?
• Do you agree that a manager should be able to master things him/herself before asking other to perform the same?

Management Link

In this story the wise Mullah was not sure about the task involved. so he wanted to try it out first. This is an admirable act of consideration. As managers you should strive for empathy; part of your role is to be a coach and a 'people's manager'. This does not necessarily mean that managers need to be able to perform all of their staff's tasks. Image the manager of a construction company trying for a week to lay out bricks. Or a manager of a law firm studying each and every law book. This does not make sense. But when it come to core values it does make sense. Managers, more than anyone in the organization, are role models to others.

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