I do like having conversations with friends, colleagues, and acquaintances. One great lesson I have always learned is to listen to the intent of the conversation away from the sideshows. This explains why in my writings I have the ability to quote some of the conversation intents.
One evening I join some good friends for a cup of coffee and as it happens with good friends you get an opportunity to discuss everything and anything. So on this day, we discussed everything and everything but the most important bit of the conversation was "your greatest test will be how you react after people with whom you had good intentions mishandled you." This was one of the areas we discussed and since these were colleagues in the professional field you can be sure we shared challenges of workplace mistreatment and how we adored a great workplace culture.
This reminds me of the story of the two best motor engineers of the 1960s, Ferruccio Lamborghini and Enzo Ferrari. The actual year is 1963 during Kenya's independence.
Ferrucio was a successful tractor manufacturer whereas Enzo was a successful manufacturer of luxury sports cars including Ferrari. Ferrucio acquired a Ferrari and after a short while he noticed that the car's clutch breaks too easily. So he drove to engineer Enzo's home to give him feedback, he also shared some ideas with him on how to improve the car's clutch system.
Enzo would silently listen to him and when he was done he rejected his advice with famous one-sentence feedback “Let me make cars. You stick to making tractors.” Ferruccio stood up and drove away dejected, and humiliated, on his way home he made a determination, knowing very well that he was the best tractor manufacturer in Italy he need to diversify into the sports car market and treat Enzo Ferrari a lesson. This is the day the prestigious Lamborghini was one - at least in Ferruccio Lamborghini's mind.
Prior to this incident Enzo's ego and irrational character had seen him sack five top engineers at his manufacturing plant, reason? The five engineers including Carlo Chiti who was the chief engineer, and legendary development manager Giotto Bizzarrini had complained to him that his wife Laura Ferrari, was interfering with their work by making important decisions on the factory floor hence messing up the production flow.
Enzo Ferrari instead of correcting his wife's behaviour or managing the concerns professionally, he fired the five engineers, with the knowledge from his factory, they opened up a competing production company known as ATS a design agency for racing and sports cars.
That day as Ferruccio drove from Enzo's home furious for being belittled despite his good intentions, he contacted the gentlemen and ATS and explained to them the idea he had in mind within four months, they had designed and built for him a Lamborghini car, 350 GT.
We all know that a Lamborghini is as costly as you would think and its speed is out of this world.
That's how the rivalry between these two great engineers exploded and gave us the Lamborghini car.
Ferruccio Lamborghini had a choice of bad-mouthing Enzo Ferrari's car business by telling the world the fault on the clutches that he had discovered as an engineer with a reputable tractor manufacturing plant. He would have been believed and easily grounded Enzo Ferrari's business, but no, he saw an opportunity and decided to turn his anger into positive energy - he gifted the world with the Lamborghini car.
What does Ferruccio's experience teach us? That we need to stop whining when we provide feedback and is not taken positively. That we have a golden opportunity to turn rejected feedback into remarkable products and services that are branded with our own names. That rejected feedback can build us brands that will forever feedback our families and generations to come in our lineage.
That as Joel Osteen would put it, "Every day we have plenty of opportunities to get angry, stressed or offended. But what you're doing when you indulge these negative emotions is giving something outside yourself power over your happiness. You can choose to not let little things upset you."
That if you want to live a significant life, It’s YOUR choice! Just do it!! It’s never too late!!
Also remember, in a lion's den, in a fish's belly, in a fiery furnace, in a borrowed tomb, or in your life. It can look like it is over, but God is NOT finished yet. Wake up and build yourself into a brand that one day, "You will not need to introduce yourself"
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