Office Fables: For Today's Manager

By Rakhshanda Jalil

Office Fables for Today’s Manager brings you a collection of inspirational stories that are simple and easy to read. Most of the stories here are short, seldom more than a page long. They depend not so much on transferring large amounts of information to the reader but more on catalysing understanding. They compel you to pause, reflect and carry the message through the day. These are not feel-good eulogies, but a collection of stories that carries the kernel of business intelligence. You will find something in Office Fables that speaks to you, that supports, inspires and energises you to improve the quality of life at work and, in the process, grow and develop.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Niyogi
• Release date: Aug 30, 2006
• ISBN: 9788189738099

Rakhshanda Jalil

Rakhshanda Jalil is a writer, critic and literary historian. She has published over twenty books and written over fifty academic papers and essays. Her book on the lesser-known monuments of Delhi, Invisible City, continues to be a bestseller. Her most recent works include translations of The Sea Lies Ahead, Intizar Husain's seminal novel on Karachi and Krishan Chander's partition novel Traitor; an edited volume of critical writings on Ismat Chughtai called An Uncivil Woman; a literary biography of the Urdu poet Shahryar; The Great War: Indian Writings on the First World War; Preeto and Other Stories: The Male Gaze in Urdu and, most recently, Kaifiyat, a translation of Kaifi Azmi's poems. She runs an organization called Hindustani Awaaz, devoted to the popularization of Hindi–Urdu literature and culture. In 2016, she was awarded the Kaifi Azmi Award for her contribution to Urdu.

Book preview

Too Much of a Good Thing can be Bad

One day a woman bought a hen. To her surprise, the hen laid a silver egg. The next day, she laid yet another egg. This one too was pure silver. And so it continued for the next few days to the woman’s great delight and astonishment.

Soon, it occurred to the woman that if she could somehow get her hen to lay more than one egg at a time, she could sell them and make a handsome amount of money. Then, she wouldn’t have to do any work. She would become a rich woman.

She decided to feed the hen more, so that it could lay more eggs everyday. The poor hen could only take so much. She died of indigestion.

Know when you are on to a good thing. Make the most of it, but do not be greedy for too much too quickly.

In the Hands of Fools, Caution is Useless

In a grand house, there was a nightingale that lived in a cage. It used to sing only at night, never during the day. On a tree close beside there lived an owl. He had heard the nightingale sing only at night and was puzzled by this.

One day, the owl asked the nightingale, Why do you sing only at night?

The nightingale answered, You see, when I was captured, it was day and I was singing. Now I have learnt my lesson. I am much more careful these days. Now I sing only at night.

The wise owl flew away saying, But, does it matter now?

Take precautions when danger is near, not when you are in the thick of it. Be careful when it is still possible to avert a crisis. There is another expression for such a situation: Bolting the stable door when the horse has fled.

Is Enough Too Little for You?

A hungry dog chanced upon a large juicy bone. Delighted at his good fortune, he picked it up and ran away. He thought of looking for a safe, comfortable place to sit and chew his bone. As he crossed a small bridge over a river, he happened to look down. There he saw his reflection. The foolish dog thought there was another dog in there with a larger bone in his mouth. He opened his mouth to bark, thinking he would frighten the other dog and steal his bone. But his bone fell out of his mouth into the deep water below. And with that was gone his meal for the day.

Profit is not a dirty word, but sometimes it is important to know when to stop hungering for more and more. Don’t become the sort of person for whom enough is too little. Instead, enjoy what you have.

Divided, We Fall

A frog and a mouse were good friends. But one day they got into a nasty fight. They began to argue over who was the rightful owner of the patch of land where both lived. A clash of words led to a fierce battle. They began to attack each other with claws and teeth. They were so engrossed in fighting with each other that they were unaware of their surroundings.

A kite flying high in the sky spotted the frog and the mouse grappling with each other down below on the ground. The kite seized the opportunity of picking up a tasty meal, swooped below and gobbled up the two fighters.

There will always be someone waiting in the wings to take advantage of office disputes. Infighting among colleagues is usually a great opportunity for the scavengers to descend!

Things are Seldom How They Seem

Once an inexperienced little mouse left his home and set off to explore the world. He saw a huge cockerel. The little mouse had never seen a cockerel before. He took one look at its sharp beak, its bright red crest, its shiny feathers and ran away as fast as his little legs would take him. He thought, What a dangerous-looking beast that is!

Then he saw a cat. He said to himself, What a lovely looking animal! Its fur is so soft. It looks so gentle. Its eyes are so striking.

The little mouse soon returned home and narrated his experiences to his mother. The mother said, "You have a lot to learn, Son. The first animal was a harmless cockerel; the second one that you thought was gentle and