The Parable of the Three Managers

Once upon a time there was a small village with three managers. Each day, at sunset, they’d gather and tell stories of their team’s accomplishments. Every one better than the last.

Until one day a curse was cast upon them all, shrouding each manager’s team in a cloud. Within the cloud people struggled, argued and fought. What the team used to be able to complete in a day took a week or even a month.

After struggling for a long time, the managers once again met at sunset. They discussed with each other and determined what they must do. They set out on a journey to seek the aid of The Performancer.

They left the village immediately in the light of the moon and after walking what seemed like days, came upon The Performancer’s cave. They relayed their story immediately and in detail. The Performancer told them that the curse could be lifted, but required a sacrifice.

The first manager said, “I shall sacrifice my time.”

The Performancer then withdrew from his cloak a little vial. “Drink this,” he said, “you will have the energy of the sun to fight the cloud.”

The first manager grabbed the vial and drank eagerly. He returned to the village and worked each day from sunrise to sunset. He trained and coached; re-organized and re-worked his team. He toiled endless in attempts to banish the cloud. And while it weakened, it never cleared. Eventually he became bitter and resentful of his team. Once he could no longer stand it, he left the village and the cloud behind. Such was the fate of the first manager.

The second manager said, “I shall sacrifice my dignity.”

The Performancer walked back into the shadows of his cave and returned with a massive, beautiful cloak with extraordinary patterns woven into the fabric. He said, “Cast this cloak over your team and no one will see the cloud beneath. Yet you must live with the secret of what the cloak hides.”

The second manager took the cloak and returned to his village. As he was told, he cast it over his team and the cloud. For a time, it worked. The village treated his team like any other. But eventually the cloud grew and as much as he attempted to stretch and pull the cloak to conceal it, he could not. Upon learning of his attempt to conceal the cloud, the village banished him. Such was the fate of the second manager.

The third manager said, “I shall sacrifice members of my team who are my friends.”

The Performancer replied, “Your sacrifice will suffice. Go back to your village, select a member of the team and bring them to me. After which, you will return to your village and find that the cloud has gone.” So the third manager, though it pained him, did as The Performancer said and brought one of his team members and friends back to the cave. But unbeknownst to the third manager, The Performancer also took some of the his heart.

The third manager returned to his village without his friend and just as was promised, found that the cloud had dissipated. His team returned to normal for a time, but occasionally the cloud would return, and the manager would sacrifice new team members, sending a bit of his heart along with them each time. Eventually he had so little heart remaining that he grew numb to the exchange, no longer pained by the departure of his team members and friends. The manager grew old and accomplished a lot with his team while holding the curse at bay.

On his death bed, he considered all of the accomplishments of his team. But he neither smiled nor wept as he was numb to the accomplishments as well. And so he died. Such was the fate of the third manager.