We know that effective communication gets us Macadamia nuts, but how do we horde more nuts (of every kind) than we could possibly consume in a life time? To answer that, let me share the tale of Sir Monkey.
Sir Monkey is very wealthy so his friends call him Rich. During his early years, he realize that by being the head monkey he would get more nuts so he started his own publication start up and worked hard at creating a good magazine. Nick, a close friend was invited to join the team and keep track of the nuts reserve they have (finance). He was very good at counting and sourcing for nuts and soon the company’s reserve was bulging and overflowing with all kinds of nuts. Rich was very happy and wished that everyone could continue to work hard together for a very long time.
However, one day Rich came across a scribble (memo) from Nick that was left on his desk by accident. To his horror, it was a petition for hand paints (signatures) to support Rich’s resignation from the company. Instead of jumping in fury, Rich calmly collected his wits and considered why Nick, his friend could have instigated such a thing. Rich then decided to invite Nick out for a chat in private. When they met up later that day at the top of the tree (building), Rich coyly mentioned that since Nick was a good friend, he felt responsible to let him know the other monkeys (colleagues) were displeased by his scribble (memo). He also suggested that the best solution was for Nick to branch off on his own and that he would help him by offering elements from the magazine for him to start with. Out of sheepish embarrassment, Nick apologized and accepted the offer. Nick thanked Rich for his honesty and wished that they could remain best friends forever.
It is clear that Rich did a great job at handling the interpersonal conflict between himself and Nick. He managed his feelings and was able to exploit EQ to his benefit. His decision to take a pause and reflect on the situation allowed him to persuade Nick to part ways amicably by addressing Nick’s inner desire to head his own company. Of course there could be myriads of other motivations that led Nick to his actions. Thus, my question to all would be to suggest an alternative cause for his action and brainstorm a solution that would result in a win-win situation for both parties.
P.S. Did you figure out who Sir Monkey is? Hint: He is also known as Sir Rich….
