The Beeb showed Kung Fu Panda yesterday evening. I’d seen it before and loved it, Carole and Keira hadn’t so we sat down and enjoyed it. The animation is beautiful and the story line is funny and powerful.
This morning I spotted a tweet from Ann Tran quoting from the film. The quote was “Anything is possible when you have inner peace”, and it reminded me of a great passage from the movie about the illusion of control.
Having previously written about the illusion of control, this passage struck a chord with me and I’d like to share it with you here:
Oogway: My friend, the panda will never fulfill his destiny, nor you yours until you let go of the illusion of control. Shifu: Illusion? Oogway: Yes.
[points at peach tree] Oogway: Look at this tree, Shifu: I cannot make it blossom when it suits me nor make it bear fruit before its time. Shifu: But there are things we *can* control: I can control when the fruit will fall, I can control where to plant the seed: that is no illusion, Master! Oogway: Ah, yes. But no matter what you do, that seed will grow to be a peach tree. You may wish for an apple or an orange, but you will get a peach. Shifu: But a peach cannot defeat Tai Lung! Oogway: Maybe it can, if you are willing to guide, to nurture it, to believe in it. Shifu: But how? How? I need your help, master. Oogway: No, you just need to believe. Promise me, Shifu, promise me you will believe.
Wouldn’t it be cool to have Oogway as your HRD – just imagine the possibilities.
This post is a singing version of the outstandingly good poem I Met a Man; or Hell In a Handcart written by Rick (and augmented by others) over at Flip Chart Fairy Tales.
I met a man who met a man who met a man who said,
“My work-shy next-door neighbour is a-swinging of the lead,
He says that he’s disabled but I know that limp’s a fake,
He’s not really sick, he’s just a shirker on the take.”
I met a man who met a man who’d been told by another,
That further down the street there lived a lazy single mother,
With twenty kids, a welfare cheque, a house just like a castle,
Prada, Gucci, Louboutin and a bank account in Basel.
I met a man who met a man who said he knew for sure,
That Britain’s welfare state is like an ever open door,
Anyone and everyone from here to Timbuktu,
Scrounging off the taxes that are paid by me and you.
I met a man who met a man who said it was a fact,
We’d never even notice if all council staff were sacked,
He also knew for certain, though how he wouldn’t say,
Those council fat-cat bosses earn a thousand pounds a day.
I met a man who met a man who swore that it was true,
Senior civil servants only work from ten till two,
Then off they go for lunch breaks in posh restaurants and bars,
And slope off home at tea time in their chauffeur driven cars.
I met a man who met a man who said he knew a bloke,
Sacked for telling nothing but a silly little joke,
The woman that he said it to is richer than a queen,
A million compensation for hurt feelings, it would seem.
I met a man who met a man who told a chilling tale,
(He knew that it was true because he’d read it in the Mail)
Of a Brave New Britain run by Muslims, reds and gays,
Coming to a street near you within the next few days.
I met a man who met a man who’d overheard by chance,
An evil EU plot to make Great Britain part of France,
They’ll make us drink in litres and put garlic on our bread,
And honest John and Jack must change to Jean and Jacques instead.
I met a man who met a man who said this country’s broke
He was laughing like a maniac but I swear this ain’t no joke
The guy gave me the creeps, came across real sinister
I swear I’ve seen that face before, hold on – it’s the Prime Minister!
I met a man who met a man who couldn’t understand
Why the Human Rights of Criminals had got so out of hand
They get let off with a warning if they lodge a guilty plea
And Ken Clarke is determined that all rapists should walk free
I met a man, who met a man, who’d been led to believe,
A secret BBC charter clause, commits them to deceive,
The biased corporation has long gone down the tubes,
So if you want some balance then look to Sky for news .
I met a man who met a man who spoke of Health’s low norms
& thus the pressing need for competitive reforms
Doctors ruled by bureaucrats, nurses drowned in paper
A dose of market discipline will end this silly caper
I met a man who met a man who told me he was sorry –
he didn’t see why I was scared and told me not to worry,
the genuinely sick, he said, would always be looked after
then turned and scrapped the Welfare State to please his lord and master.
Course Gordon didn’t meet a man, he met a lass called Duffy
She said the streets were all run down, and immigrants too scruffy.
Despite her sounding bigoted and making Gordon cower.
She’s now the chief of policy at CCHQ towers.
I met a man who met a man who said that it’s no wonder
With all these bums and scroungers that the country’s going under,
Things ain’t what they used to be so sound the warning bell,
Climb aboard the handcart for we’re on our way to hell.
The board has decided – we have to let people go. The axe swingeth. Who does it hit? Often the blade chops through large teams. The rationale being something like “there’s 50 of them – they can cope as a team of 40”. In some ways this looks more achievable, and perhaps desirable than “this team of four couldn’t possibly function if it got any smaller”.
Let’s say the team of 50 are front line customer service folk earning £25,000 each, and the team of four are management folk earning £100,000 each. Now I don’t know about you but in my experience bigger organisations can often cope with the loss of one of the management team much better than the loss of several front line staff. Trouble is – this is a headcount reduction you see, so in this case four is better than one. You don’t suppose these things are designed like this to protect the more senior folk do you?
I recall a division of a big company going through a round of voluntary redundancies. It was announced and presented along with an organisation chart mainly consisting of blank spaces. The blank spaces numbered fewer than the current number of people. Reapply for your job á la musical chairs. What struck me was that the first page of the chart was already complete. The Managing Director and all his reports were deemed essential. Now there’s a funny thing eh?
No one likes having to get rid of people, but surely trying to achieve a reduction in the paybill is at least as valid a way of managing the challenge?
