Kirk was privileged to talk to a wonderful group of people yesterday about what they felt were some of the things that stopped groups or teams from realizing their fullest potential. One of the first things they identified was gossip or back biting. And he couldn’t agree more. How can we achieve great heights if we can’t keep our minds and mouths out of the gutter and mud?
The discussion reminded him of this poster from his youth… and a story about nails.
It says… “Gossip, don’t pass it on.”
The story is about a boy who was constantly cursing, speaking ill of others, and basically being mean to everyone. His father told him that every time he did any of that, he was to take a nail from the can of nails on the porch and go out and hammer the nail into the fence behind the house. And so, the boy did. He was just two nails short of using up the large coffee can full of nails when he finally gained control of how he reacted to everything. He sheepishly admitted to his father than he had learned his lesson.
The father then told him to go and remove all of the nails from the fence and put them back in the can. It tried the boy’s patience and new-found control something fierce to pull all of those nails out, but he did it. Some nails came out straight, but many were mangled and bent as he struggled to get them back out. When he had cleared the fence of the extra nails he had pounded in, he returned the can of nails to his father.
The father then asked him to look at the fence and tell him what he saw. The boy said that he saw a bunch of holes. His father told him that harmful words and actions were like that, no matter how you try to take them back, they always leave holes behind.
Be kind to souls… and don’t leave holes…
Kirk Out
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