Long long ago... in a place far far away... was a kingdom ruled by King Chakramaditya.
The King had 2 ministers Dondu and Pandu. Dondu and Pandu had been in King's service for many years and also happened to be best childhood friends. But, it somehow happened that Dondu always got promoted before Pandu and obviously Pandu was never happy with that bit. He thought the King was partial towards Dondu.
This time, Pandu gathered enough courage to go and speak to King Chakramaditya and express his concerns.
Pandu: Your Majesty, With all due respect, I would like to know where I have fallen short in my service. Everytime, Dondu gets promoted before me eventhough we have done the same work for the same number of years.
King Chakramaditya: You are right in asking that question and I'll answer it to your satisfaction. But first, I have a few traders from the neighbouring kingdom, one of them wants to meet me. Can you do the first review with him and see what he has got to trade.
Pandu: (immediately left to meet the trader, came back 2 minutes later) Your Majesty, this man is a silk trader and wants to sell us silks.
King Chakramaditya: Good. What price does he ask?
Pandu: (immediately left and came back in 2 minutes) Your Majesty, he asks for a 100 gold coins for a silk carpet and the prices are fixed.
King Chakramaditya: We are a large kingdom, will he give a better price if we order in large volumes? Will he be able to deliver?
Pandu: (rushed out one more time to return in a couple of minutes) Your Majesty, his prices are not negotiable.
King Chakramaditya: Just forget it. We do not want to trade with him.
Exactly at that moment, Dondu walked into the hall. The King told Dondu - "We have a few traders from other states. Can you meet one of them and do the first review?"
Dondu, bowed to the King and stepped out. He was gone for over 10 minutes. When he came back, he gave the following answer to the King.
Dondu: "Your Majesty, the person I met is a trader of precious jewels. He wants 25 Gold coins for each single jewel he sells to us. I saw a few of his samples and they are really valuable. I checked with the trader and he was very particular about fixed price. However, given the fact that we are a large kingdom and will order large quantities, he is willing to negotiate. If your majesty could approve, I can go ahead and initiate a transaction with him"
King Chakramaditya, smiled at Dondu and asked him to leave. He then turned to Pandu and asked, "Do you still want me to answer your question?"
Most of us come across this feeling every once in a while. Why is he getting promoted before me. I do everything that my boss asks me to do... then why???
That is probably the problem right there... You might be doing everything the boss tells. While someone else might be doing something even before the boss tells.
There are people who answer the questions and then there are those who answer questions before they are asked.
I had a similar experience long ago, (Now don't start guessing whether I was Dondu or Pandu). But I decided that I will work on myself and grow into the Dondu above.
The secret is quite simple - The boss always likes the team to whom he doesn't have to give instructions. A team which takes away his work so he can focus on bigger things. I know that I will eventually grow into being a Dondu and who knows someday I might become the King Chakramaditya.
The King had 2 ministers Dondu and Pandu. Dondu and Pandu had been in King's service for many years and also happened to be best childhood friends. But, it somehow happened that Dondu always got promoted before Pandu and obviously Pandu was never happy with that bit. He thought the King was partial towards Dondu.
This time, Pandu gathered enough courage to go and speak to King Chakramaditya and express his concerns.
Pandu: Your Majesty, With all due respect, I would like to know where I have fallen short in my service. Everytime, Dondu gets promoted before me eventhough we have done the same work for the same number of years.
King Chakramaditya: You are right in asking that question and I'll answer it to your satisfaction. But first, I have a few traders from the neighbouring kingdom, one of them wants to meet me. Can you do the first review with him and see what he has got to trade.
Pandu: (immediately left to meet the trader, came back 2 minutes later) Your Majesty, this man is a silk trader and wants to sell us silks.
King Chakramaditya: Good. What price does he ask?
Pandu: (immediately left and came back in 2 minutes) Your Majesty, he asks for a 100 gold coins for a silk carpet and the prices are fixed.
King Chakramaditya: We are a large kingdom, will he give a better price if we order in large volumes? Will he be able to deliver?
Pandu: (rushed out one more time to return in a couple of minutes) Your Majesty, his prices are not negotiable.
King Chakramaditya: Just forget it. We do not want to trade with him.
Exactly at that moment, Dondu walked into the hall. The King told Dondu - "We have a few traders from other states. Can you meet one of them and do the first review?"
Dondu, bowed to the King and stepped out. He was gone for over 10 minutes. When he came back, he gave the following answer to the King.
Dondu: "Your Majesty, the person I met is a trader of precious jewels. He wants 25 Gold coins for each single jewel he sells to us. I saw a few of his samples and they are really valuable. I checked with the trader and he was very particular about fixed price. However, given the fact that we are a large kingdom and will order large quantities, he is willing to negotiate. If your majesty could approve, I can go ahead and initiate a transaction with him"
King Chakramaditya, smiled at Dondu and asked him to leave. He then turned to Pandu and asked, "Do you still want me to answer your question?"
Most of us come across this feeling every once in a while. Why is he getting promoted before me. I do everything that my boss asks me to do... then why???
That is probably the problem right there... You might be doing everything the boss tells. While someone else might be doing something even before the boss tells.
There are people who answer the questions and then there are those who answer questions before they are asked.
I had a similar experience long ago, (Now don't start guessing whether I was Dondu or Pandu). But I decided that I will work on myself and grow into the Dondu above.
The secret is quite simple - The boss always likes the team to whom he doesn't have to give instructions. A team which takes away his work so he can focus on bigger things. I know that I will eventually grow into being a Dondu and who knows someday I might become the King Chakramaditya.
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