CORPORATE INTEGRITY BILL! A STORY FOR ALL TO HEED HOPE THERE ARE MANY BILLS IN BOARD ROOMS!
A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time |
to choose a successor to take over the business.
Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to
do something different. He called all the young executives in his
company together.
He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.
"The young executives were Shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one of you a
SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one
year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the
plants that you bring, and the one
that I choose will be the next CEO."
One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and
excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.
Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the
other executives began to talk about their seeds
and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Bill kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.
By now, others were talking about their plants,
but Bill didn't have a plant and he felt like a failure.
Six months went by -- still nothing in Bill's pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.
Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing
Bill didn't say anything to his colleagues, however, he just kept watering and
fertilizing the soil - he so wanted the seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company
brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.
Bill told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot.
But she asked him to be honest about what happened.
Bill felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life,
but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room.
When Bill arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were
beautiful - in all shapes and sizes. Bill put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his youngexecutives.
Bill just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,"
said the CEO. "Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!"
All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Bill at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the
Financial Director to bring him to the front. Bill was terrified.. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm
a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"
When Bill got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed,
Bill told him the story.
The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Bill. He looked at Bill, and then announced to the young executives, "This is your next Chief Executive Officer!
His name is Bill!" Bill couldn't believe it. Bill couldn't even grow his seed.
"How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.
Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed.
I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.
But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.
All of you, except Bill, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed
would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you.
Bill was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it.
Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!"