Tag Archive for: influence

The Missing Piece

Arriving at Kyle and Emily’s on Saturday evening, we found them busy with a jigsaw puzzle they’d been slowly working through for weeks. It wasn’t just any puzzle. It was a brilliant photo of Emily’s dad, Steve, leaning into a corner on his motorbike. A great Christmas gift and clearly a labour of love.

Early Sunday morning, I had a little time on my hands, so I sat down and decided I’d tried to fill in a few of the missing pieces.

My strategy was simple. Focus on one gap and find that piece first, patiently sifting through every spare piece on the table.

One by one. Carefully. Methodically. Thoroughly.

Sadly – none of them fitted.

After a half hour of effort, I reached a logical conclusion… “There must be a piece missing.”

Shortly afterwards, I announced over breakfast that the puzzle was clearly incomplete.

Emily calmly replied, “Did you look under the table?

I had not… Under the table was… a whole box of additional pieces.

Starting Over…

Another 15 minutes of careful searching. Still nothing. At this point I’d handled what felt like hundreds of pieces and was fairly certain the universe was against me.

Emily wandered over, glanced in the box, paused for a second, picked up a single piece and slotted it straight in.

Perfect fit…

I’d invested close to an hour.

She invested about ten seconds…. Grrr.

It struck me that this wasn’t really about jigsaws at all, rather it was a reminder about perspective.

I was focused on effort. If I just worked harder and examined every option, I’d eventually get there. Emily approached it differently. She looked at the bigger picture. The colours. The shape of the gap. The context. She wasn’t just searching pieces. She was thinking about the whole image.

In leadership, we often default to our own viewpoint. We double down. We try harder. We stay at the table longer. But sometimes the answer isn’t about more effort. It’s about a different lens.

The piece isn’t missing. It’s just in a box we haven’t looked in yet.

And occasionally, the smartest move is inviting someone else to look at the puzzle with you.

Different hands. Different eyes. Different viewpoints.

Same picture.

Usually, a much faster solution.

Who could offer a fresh perspective on a challenge you’re facing?

Elevate Your Thoughts

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐝.
All that we achieve and all that we fail to achieve is a direct result of our 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬.

Eagles and Crows.

Consider this short story by Vernon Howard, about a community of eagles that lived on a beautiful mountain range.
“The eagles were happy and found an abundance of food in surrounding woods and streams. Their days were spent in lofty soaring in the beautiful blue sky, high above the world. But down on the dry prairie, there dwelt a band of devious crows. The crows had access to a low grade of corn in glittering packages. They looked for unsuspecting travellers who they could get to eat the corn.
Now the eagles were smart enough, but careless at times. Though they were cautious at first, the corn looked pretty good. Besides, it saved the effort of hunting. So, the eagles soared less and less and began dropping down to the crows’ cornfields more and more. Of course, the less they flew, the less they felt like flying. Growing weak in their wings, they began to believe that they were meant to be down on the ground with the crows.
But there was one eagle who sensed that something was not right. Besides, the corn didn’t really taste as good as the crows said it would. When he tried to persuade his eagle friends to return to the mountains, the crows ridiculed him. Believing the crows, the eagles shunned their former friend.
Growing tired of it all, the lone eagle studied himself carefully. He tried his wings, and something deep inside told him he belonged in a higher place. So off he flew, back to the mountains. Then from dawn to dusk, he soared over his beautiful world, free to be what he was always meant to be – an eagle.”

Your Thoughts

In our personal life, we can all be affected by many blinding influences.
If we are not careful, we can be deceived by false beliefs and teachings spread by millions of “devious crows.”
They are able to convince many to take the “easy street”.
But all of us are really 𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬.
We are all meant to soar!
There are a few ways to think about “crows” around us, including negative thoughts, that can be random, unpleasant, agitating and anxiety filled mental impulses.
Despite these thoughts, each of us can overcome them and become a powerful influence for good.
𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆.
My invitation to everyone today through this timeless fable, is to elevate your thoughts, don’t get stuck in the mud, you are meant to soar above this world!
“For as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he.” – Proverbs 23:7
Now – off you go…. Take Flight!

Influence or Persuasion

In preparation for a forthcoming learning event I was reminded one of Aesop’s classic fables of “The Wind and the Sun.”

As I recall, it goes something like this….

In the story, the Wind and the Sun argue over who is stronger, and decide to settle their debate by seeing who can compel a passing traveller to remove his cloak.

The Wind, confident in his strength, begins by blowing fiercely.

The Wind blew with all his might, but the stronger he blew, the closer the traveller wrapped his cloak around him and the tighter he grasped it with his hands.

When the Wind finally tires, the Sun takes a gentler approach.

With the welcome beams of light and warmth, the traveller began to feel the gradual heat of the sun, as it shone brighter and brighter.

Eventually, overcome with the heat, without resistance the traveller cast his cloak on the ground.

Thus, the sun was champion.

This fable highlights a fundamental difference between influence and persuasion versus the use of force or coercion.

The Wind

The Wind’s approach represents an attempt to dominate and overpower the traveller’s will, pushing him into action.

However, the result is the opposite: the more the Wind exerts force, the more the traveller resists.

Coercion or manipulation comes to mind.

When people feel pushed or controlled, their natural instinct is to resist, much like the traveller tightening his cloak.

The harder the push, the stronger the resistance.

This is seen in situations where force or threats are used to compel behaviour — the results are often fleeting or met with opposition.

The Sun

In contrast, the Sun’s method embodies the power of influence and persuasion.

Rather than forcing the traveller to act, the Sun creates an environment where the traveller chooses to remove his cloak willingly.

This symbolises the effectiveness of using warmth, patience, and empathy to guide others toward a desired outcome.

Persuasion taps into intrinsic motivation, making people feel like they are in control of their decisions.

By fostering comfort and trust, the Sun influences the traveller’s behaviour subtly but effectively, leading to a more lasting change.

In the realms of leadership, negotiation, or communication, this fable demonstrates that soft power—the ability to persuade and influence through positive means—is often more powerful than direct force.

True influence creates conditions where others willingly adopt ideas or behaviours, rather than acting out of fear or obligation.

Just as the Sun outshone the Wind by gently encouraging the traveller to remove his cloak, the most effective forms of persuasion appeal to reason, trust, and mutual respect.

For me, there is a great lesson in this simple fable that persuasion is better than force.

Indeed, the sunshine of a kind and gentle manner is much more powerful than the threat of force of blustering might.

What lesson does the tale teach you?