A Story for the Season...

In the holiday spirit, I wanted to share something with you.

Up front I will tell you that Theodor Geisel (aka Dr Seuss) is one of my favourite authors. If you have a copy of How the Grinch Stole Christmas stop reading this, go get it, gather the family around and share*. I personally would grab a glass of rum and egg nog, but that's me. Now, if you don't have a copy, please settle in (with the suggested beverage) and continue reading-

Every Who
Down in Who-ville
Liked Christmas a lot...

But the Grinch,
Who lived just North of Who-ville,
Did NOT!

The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
It could be that his head wasn't screwed on quite right.
It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason of all
May have been that his heart was two sizes too small.

But,
Whatever the reason,
His heart or his shoes,
He stood there on Christmas Eve, hating the Whos,
Staring down from his cave with a sour, Grinchy frown
At the warm lighted windows below in their town.
For he knew every Who down in Who-ville beneath
Was busy now, hanging a mistleoe wreath.

"And they're hanging their stockings!" he snarled with a sneer.
"Tomorrow is Christmas! It's practically here!"
Then he growled, with his grinch fingers nervously drumming,
"I MUST find a way to keep Christmas from coming!"
For, tomorrow, he knew...

...All the Who girls and boys
Would wake up bright and early. They'd rush for their toys!
And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the noise! Noise! Noise! Noise!
That's one thing he hated! The NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!

Then the Whos, young and old, would sit down to a feast.
And they'd feast! And they'd feast!
And they'd FEAST! FEAST! FEAST! FEAST!
They would start on Who-pudding, and rare Who-roast-beast
Which was something the Grinch couldn't stand in the least!

And THEN
They'd do something he liked least of all!
Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Would stand close together, with Christmas bells ringing.
They'd stand hand-in-hand. And the Whos would start singing!

They'd sing! And they'd sing!
AND they'd SING! SING! SING! SING!
And the more the Grinch thought of the Who-Christmas-Sing
The more the Grinch thought, "I must stop this whole thing!
"Why for fifty-three years I've put up with it now!
I MUST stop Christmas from coming!
...But HOW?"

Then he got an idea!
An awful idea!
THE GRINCH
GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!

"I know just what to do!" The Grinch Laughed in his throat.
And he made a quick Santy Claus hat and a coat.
And he chuckled, and clucked, "What a great Grinchy trick!
"With this coat and this hat, I'll look just like Saint Nick!"

"All I need is a reindeer..."
The Grinch looked around.
But since reindeer are scarce, there was none to be found.
Did that stop the old Grinch...?
No! The Grinch simply said,
"If I can't find a reindeer, I'll make one instead!"
So he called his dog Max. Then he took some red thread
And he tied a big horn on top of his head.

THEN
He loaded some bags
And some old empty sacks
On a ramshakle sleigh
And he hitched up old Max.

Then the Grinch said, "Giddyap!"
And the sleigh started down
Toward the homes where the Whos
Lay a-snooze in their town.

All their windows were dark. Quiet snow filled the air.
All the Whos were all dreaming sweet dreams without care
When he came to the first house in the square.
"This is stop number one," The old Grinchy Claus hissed
And he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist.

Then he slid down the chimney. A rather tight pinch.
But if Santa could do it, then so could the Grinch.
He got stuck only once, for a moment or two.
Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue
Where the little Who stockings all hung in a row.
"These stockings," he grinned, "are the first things to go!"

Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant,
Around the whole room, and he took every present!
Pop guns! And bicycles! Roller skates! Drums!
Checkerboards! Tricycles! Popcorn! And plums!
And he stuffed them in bags. Then the Grinch, very nimbly,
Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney!

Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the Whos' feast!
He took the Who-pudding! He took the roast beast!
He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash.
Why, that Grinch even took their last can of Who-hash!

Then he stuffed all the food up the chimney with glee.
"And NOW!" grinned the Grinch, "I will stuff up the tree!"

And the Grinch grabbed the tree, and he started to shove
When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.
He turned around fast, and he saw a small Who!
Little Cindy-Lou Who, who was not more than two.

The Grinch had been caught by this little Who daughter
Who'd got out of bed for a cup of cold water.
She stared at the Grinch and said, "Santy Claus, why,
"Why are you taking our Christmas tree? WHY?"

But, you know, that old Grinch was so smart and so slick
He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
"Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied,
"There's a light on this tree that won't light on one side.
"So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear.
"I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here."

And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head
And he got her a drink and he sent he to bed.
And when Cindy-Lou Who went to bed with her cup,
HE went to the chimney and stuffed the tree up!

Then the last thing he took
Was the log for their fire.
Then he went up the chimney himself, the old liar.
On their walls he left nothing but hooks, and some wire.

And the one speck of food
The he left in the house
Was a crumb that was even too small for a mouse.

Then
He did the same thing
To the other Whos' houses

Leaving crumbs
Much too small
For the other Whos' mouses!

It was quarter past dawn...
All the Whos, still a-bed
All the Whos, still a-snooze
When he packed up his sled,
Packed it up with their presents! The ribbons! The wrappings!
The tags! And the tinsel! The trimmings! The trappings!

Three thousand feet up! Up the side of Mount Crumpit,
He rode to the tiptop to dump it!
"Pooh-pooh to the Whos!" he was grinch-ish-ly humming.
"They're finding out now that no Christmas is coming!
"They're just waking up! I know just what they'll do!
"Their mouths will hang open a minute or two
"The all the Whos down in Who-ville will all cry BOO-HOO!"

"That's a noise," grinned the Grinch,
"That I simply must hear!"
So he paused. And the Grinch put a hand to his ear.
And he did hear a sound rising over the snow.
It started in low. Then it started to grow...

But the sound wasn't sad!
Why, this sound sounded merry!
It couldn't be so!
But it WAS merry! VERY!

He stared down at Who-ville!
The Grinch popped his eyes!
Then he shook!
What he saw was a shocking surprise!

Every Who down in Who-ville, the tall and the small,
Was singing! Without any presents at all!
He HADN'T stopped Christmas from coming!
IT CAME!
Somehow or other, it came just the same!

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came without tags!
"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"
And he puzzled three hours, `till his puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

And what happened then...?
Well...in Who-ville they say
That the Grinch's small heart
Grew three sizes that day!
And the minute his heart didn't feel quite so tight,
He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light
And he brought back the toys! And the food for the feast!
And he...

...HE HIMSELF...!
The Grinch carved the roast beast!

I hope you enjoyed it. It's not too late to run out and get a copy for your home... the stores are still open**. For all of you in Who-ville, please have a wonderful Holiday Season, be safe and thank you for reading.

Happy Holidays!!

gpe

* If you have the movie it is not a worthy substitute...  this is old fashioned story telling I am talking about here.

** For me every household should have a copy... and yes, the irony is not lost on me.

Fun with the Seven Deadly Sins

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

By the time you finish reading this I am hoping you will see that there can be fun and utility with the Seven Deadly Sins. Up front I will say there is no theological agenda in writing this, as well as no disrespect at any level. 

Most of us have heard of the Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, which have been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct Christians regarding people's tendency to sin. The sins have changed over the centuries but currently they are: 

1. wrath: strong, stern, or fierce anger
2. greed (avarice): intense and selfish desire for something, especially wealth, power, or food
3. sloth: reluctance to work or make an effort; laziness
4. pride (vanity): excessive admiration of one's own appearance or achievements
5. lust: very strong sexual desire
6. envy: a feeling of discontent aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck
7. gluttony: habitual greed or excess in eating

Before I continue I will want to point out that Scientific America MIND dedicated a special issue to The Seven Deadly Sins - Turn temptations into a source of strength (November/December 2013 issue). This magazine focuses on Behaviour, Brain Science and Insights and is affiliated with Scientific America so I think it is fair to say that there is credibility with using the Seven Deadly Sins for insights into business thinking and anything else that strikes your fancy - I thought I would throw this out there for anyone asking themselves, "Where the hell is he going with this?"

Up front I will let you know my deadly sin is Envy... yes the little green monster. I have come to a point where I laugh at it now, as there is nothing that I have to envy in a practical sense  - But I still catch myself.

As I mentioned, I have found great fun and utility with the Seven Deadly Sins and want to share some of them with you. First of all they simply are fun as a conversation starter or even a party game - All you have to do is ask, "What would you say your Deadly Sin is?" More often than not people have heard of them but there is always some clarification as to what they are... I have been playing this game for years and always struggle with remembering the seventh myself. It is in the answers that are both fun and telling; not so much with regards to which sin a person picks but how they go about articulating it. I have had people tell me they don't have any sins. I then just smile and wonder if they are not self actualized enough, even at this playful level, to pick one, or are they so insecure that they do not want to admit a fault. We all have a sin so it's not really the point as to if you have one or not... the point are the specifics and that makes it fun.

So now you have a new party game but lets consider this in a more professional setting - For example as an interview question. Like the party game, I am more interested in whether a person  answers the question with a sin or avoids the one word answer with some justification that they really have no "sins". For me, this is an indicator of self-actualization or reflection and not being confident enough to highlight a personal challenge. With the articulation of a sin, like a perceived weakness, it then allows for the obligatory discussion as to how the person is addressing the weakness. Lets take me for instance... with envy, and I will say up front, it is one of the nastier sins, it has allowed me to strive and stretch harder to overachieve goals as well as learn how to turn my envy into a benign entity instead of something that is destructive.

Ultimately this is why I like the "Seven Deadly Sins Game": In a very simple way, it forces us to look at who we are, our triggers and biases. This can better help us understand ourselves as well as develop checks and balances particularly when we are looking at situations with a critical and objective eye...be it individually or with our teams.

gpe

PS: Check out the Robin Hood Game.... it is also fun and insightful. Click Here

In case of emergency, break glass and read...

When you find yourself standing alone; fighting the good fight on three fronts, doing what you believe to be right, when only you see it, and exhausted to the point of redefining sleep deprivation?  For you...

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." *

and this...

"I know you are taking it in the teeth, but the first guy through the wall... he always gets bloody... always. This is threatening not just a way of doing business... but in their minds, it's threatening the game. Really what it's threatening is their livelihood, their jobs. It's threatening the way they do things... and every time that happens, whether it's the government, a way of doing business, whatever, the people who are holding the reins - they have their hands on the switch - they go batshit crazy." **

and finally this...

"For a seed to achieve it's greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn't understand growth, it would look like complete destruction. ***

gpe

* Excerpt from the speech "Citizenship In A Republic"delivered at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France on 23 April, 1910 by Teddy Roosevelt

** John Henry speaking to Billie Beane in the movie MoneyBall

*** Cynthia Occelli