Thursday, November 24, 2011

Run to the Roar

Complex ideas are better explained, understood and remembered via stories.  In my days as a professor at Rhode Island College I always found that when I could convey something via a story my students seemed to understand and remember and often they were entertained as well.  This is the second in a series of blogs examining our agency culture.
This blog discusses a metaphor that the management team often uses when dealing with a difficult or crisis situation.  So I hope you  enjoy this little tale about a pride of lions hunting for dinner!

"I've heard this told as true it sure sounds like it could be.  I've heard, when a pride of lions are trying to catch their prey, they have a  very well thought-out plan.  What these wise animals do, of course working together, is to place the oldest, fiercest "sounding" lions at one side of a path frequented by antelope- a favorite meal for our pride of lions.  These old lions are well past their prime and are really no threat at all to their potential victims. Their teeth are old and worn out and they can't run very fast anymore either!  But they can do one thing-  they can roar- loud and fierce! Well now comes dinner bounding down the path-  a tender little antelope or other delicate morsel.   The fierce sounding  lions-  the ones with no teeth and the ones that can't run very fast  begin to roar ferociously with all their might.  The antelope, hearing the roaring stop dead in their tracks,  and run in the opposite direction-  They are of course trying to escape from the threat.   The remainder of the  pride,  the young lions, sharp of tooth and fleet of foot,  sit quietly waiting for the the silly antelope to run right to them. The antelope run away from the roar and become dinner!  Safety would have resulted from running TO the roar!"

The moral of this story  is really  quite simple.  Even though it is easier and definitely more comfortable to take the  path  away from the the roaring lions and avoid what might be difficult-  and "roaring lions" occur in  all of our lives- never, ever, blindly shy away or deny what is painful, difficult, frightening or unpleasant. Safety and  most oftentimes the success of some endeavor will result when you "run to the roar"- when you embrace the terrifying situation that is confronting you. As an agency we have often chosen to  "run to the roar."  When I tell this story I am often reminded of Terry Keyes and the the clients who stood with her and filed the discrimination lawsuit and fought for the rights of those we serve when First Step was denied its zoning permit for the old Truman Street building. They "ran to the roar" and refused to be cowered by the ill will of many New London citizens.  And just to be clear , while we never did occupy the Truman Street building,  it was her actions  and the support of those clients who were willing to face the ROAR of the New London Planning and Zoning  Commission public hearings and file the subsequent federal lawsuit that eventually resulted in our ability to purchase and occupy  our wonderful new building and Oasis Center. The moral of this story is:  don't give up your lunch money so easily- face the bully,  fight the fight,- or in other words, Run to the Roar. You will often find that the lion is indeed toothless!

Very best wishes to you all on this Thanksgiving.

Gail

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