Story about communication: Simple instructions gone wrong

John was the first son of a wealthy lord. From an early age, he followed his father everywhere and learned how to manage estates, run a business, and deal with people. Above all John’s father respected and valued people who worked for him and told John never to forget who was loyal and hardworking, and to always reward them. Over the years under his father’s mentorship, John grew into a successful businessman, surpassing even his father’s achievements. As John’s father was about to retire he asked John, “If the roles would be reversed and you would mentor me, is there anything you would do differently?” By asking him this question, the father wanted to make sure that John remembered all of the lessons he handed down to him and to see if John learned anything new on his own. John smiled at his father and said, “You missed one important lesson, Father. Always give simple instructions and provide the right tools to get the job done. Anything less does not guarantee that the job will get done.” This one lesson proved to be a big deal in the young man’s future success. As his business and estates grew, he needed to find more and more reliable men and women to manage them. But it turned out that John had a weakness.

That weakness was a butler who was loyal but also dumb and kept making mistakes but was with him since his childhood. Like his father…