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The Prince
and The Blind Gurus
Once upon a time, a wise Rajah (Indian Prince) wanted to
conduct an experiment in human nature. He put on a contest to
see who was the wisest guru in all the land. Many gurus came
to the palace to participate in the contest. To be recognized
by the prince as the wisest guru would mean great success. The
wisest guru would be considered superior to all the lesser
gurus and could charge much more money for giving advice.
Quite unexpectedly, after many tests of wisdom, all of the six
finalists turned out to be blind. For the last test, the
prince decided to introduce each of the remaining gurus to a
newly discovered creature. The gurus were asked to describe
the true essence of the creature.
 One
at a time, the gurus were allowed to experience the creature.
Then the prince brought them all together to discuss their
findings and decide the outcome of the contest. The first guru
described the creature as being like a wall. The second guru
defined the creature as being like a spear. Then the third
guru boldly stated that they were both incorrect because he
was certain that this creature was a large powerful snake. The
fourth guru adamantly argued that they were all wrong, as she
knew what she knew; the creature was like a fan. "You're all
crazy!" stated the fifth guru, "Anyone can tell that the
creature isn't even a creature at all. In fact the 'creature'
is actually a tree with a unique type of bark." Finally the
sixth guru made his case to be the wisest of all. He called
them all fools, after all anyone should be able to tell that
the creature was like strong and lively rope.
A very bitter argument broke out, for they all were certain
they were correct. They were all quite confident in their
conclusions. Each of them knew what they knew. After much
name-calling and bitter debate, the Rajah stepped in and ended
the contest. This is what he said:
"All of you are correct, yet all of you are profoundly
mistaken. Your egos have gotten the best of you. Had you
opened your minds, put your egos aside and worked together,
you would have been able to understand the true essence of the
creature. Each of you described only the one piece of the
creature you personally experienced. Had you applied the
principle of interdependence, you would have learned that an
elephant is greater than the sum of its parts." |
The Epiphany Offered by Bruce
R. Wright:
You can be an elephant. A powerful, majestic being, capable
of incredible achievement. Unfortunately, most people are
surrounded by a bunch of blind gurus who "don't know what they
don't know". The lawyer deals only with those parts of the
elephant relevant to her practice. The CPA is focused on his
limited piece of the elephant. The investment advisor focuses
on her narrow realm of expertise and on it goes with bankers,
real estate agents, insurance professionals, etc. So the
elephant receives advice in a piecemeal fashion, resulting in
less than optimal effectiveness and with diminished outcomes
for you, the advisors, and society as a whole.
Unfortunately, most advisors do not understand you well enough.
They cannot articulate in writing who you really are and what
matters most to you. Too often, they see you as a transaction or
financial statements rather than as the total elephant. Do you and your
advisors see you as an elephant? Is your big picture captured
in writing and broken down into measurable, tangible,
accountable results? Is everyone on “the best page vs. the
same page”? Can you and your advisors produce tangible
documents that keep everyone focused on achieving, protecting
and sustaining your ultimate vision for your life, family and
business interests? |
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