(The Philippine Star) Updated October 23, 2011
A mother camel and a baby camel are talking to each
other one day. The baby camel asked the mother camel, “Mom, why have I
got these huge three-toed feet?”
The mother camel replied, “Well, son, when we trek across the desert, your toes help you to stay on top of the soft sand.”
“Oh…,” the baby camel said thoughtfully. A few minutes later, the
baby camel asked again, “Mom, why have I got these great, long
eyelashes?”
The mother camel answered, “They are there to keep the sand out of your eyes on the trips through the desert.”
“Oh…,” the baby camel said. After a while, the baby camel asked, yet
again, “But, Mom, why have I got these great big humps on my back?”
The mother camel, growing impatient, replied, “Son, they are there to
help us store water for our long treks across the desert, so we can go
without drinking for long periods.”
“Oh…,” the baby camel said, “So we have huge feet to stop us from
sinking, and long eyelashes to keep the sand from our eyes, and these
humps to store water… But Mom?”
“Yes, son?”
“Why the heck are we in the San Diego Zoo?!”
Wealthy businessmen send their children off to America so they can
get good education. Some of these kids get business degrees from
Wharton, Stanford, even Harvard. And when they go back home with the
best American education money could buy them, they can’t wait to apply
all they’ve learned in the family business.
But, alas, their old man who
owns the business wouldn’t want them to experiment with new ideas!
Makes one wonder what in heaven’s name have those kids been equipped for anyway.
Those kids then get frustrated, but their old man doesn’t understand. The kids leave the business to look for
employment where they’re valued and appreciated. Eventually, they also
leave the family. And their old man loses a well-educated successor full
of potential and promise. Worse, their old man loses a son or a
daughter.
Things like this happen all the time. This can probably explain why
many family-owned enterprises which were once successful are no longer
successful today, and are in fact on their way down. The people at the
helm of these businesses failed to realize that success without
succession is failure.
I learned this lesson from my son.
The 29-year-old entrepreneur sure knows a lot of stuff I don’t know,
but during my time, I was the toast of the town. I was the innovative
kid who was updated with the latest information, trends,
fads and styles. I’ve started several businesses, some of which have
earned national renown. So why should my son think he knows better than
me?
Honest thinking produces honest answers, so here’s the answer: my son
can think he knows better because he’s dealing with his generation, not
mine. He certainly knows a lot about it more than I do.
This is why I leave him to his own business ideas. I don’t impose
upon him what he should do. I would advise him, I would encourage him,
but I always leave him to make the final decision, his own decision.
When something goes wrong, I don’t blame him. Instead, I ask him to
process the experience so he learns from it. But when things do go
right, I applaud him and praise him. This builds up his confidence. I
equipped my son for business. I sent him to business school.
Now that he’s in business, I want him to go on and soar. And I’m sure
the simple restaurant he and his friend started will indeed go places.
And all the credit goes to them.
I would love my son to succeed, and I realize that my main job right now in order for him to achieve that is to be a cheerleader.
The irony is that, the more I sit back and let him do things his way,
the more he confides in me. I have yet to wait for the day when he
would pay me my consultation fees, but it’s all right. Having him close
as a son – that’s priceless.
There’s a season for everything under the sun. If it’s the season for
me to take the back seat, then so be it.
Learn to celebrate success,
and learn to celebrate letting go as well.
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