To err is human but to forgive is divine

Organisations are about people, and people are known to make mistakes. I challenge you to look for the best in others, to anticipate that they will turn out alright and to rejoice when people try to make amends for the wrongs they have done. ILLUSTRATION | NATION

What you need to know:

  • One of the lessons here is that of taking personal responsibility for our actions. Most people will look for excuses for their mistakes. It is crucial to carry out an honest self-evaluation and decide what went wrong and how you will make amends for it.
  • All of us should work with the mentality of an owner, and not of a worker.
  • Organisations are about people, and people are known to make mistakes. Some people are entrusted with huge responsibilities, and when they make a mistake, there are several people waiting to bring them down. I challenge you to look for the best in others.

There is a beautiful story about a rich man who had two sons. One of the sons decided to take his share of the inheritance and go into the world. His father obliged him and gave him his share of the inheritance.

The story goes that the boy got into all sorts of adventures. Since he had wealth, he discovered that there were people who were willing to spend it with him. However, when the riches ran out, they abandoned him. He became hungry and had to look for a way of keeping himself alive. The story states that the boy decided to eat the food which was offered to pigs in order to keep himself alive.

After much soul-searching, the boy realised how much suffering he had endured. He was feeding with the pigs while the servants in his father’s house had better food than himself. He decided to go back to his father and apologise for his foolishness in thinking that he could make it all on his own.

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

He also decided that he was going to ask his father to employ him as a servant. The story goes that the boy started walking home. While he was far off, his father, who was always watching in the distance, saw him and called his servants and asked them to fetch the fatted calf and the best robes for the boy.

The father ran towards his son and embraced him, welcoming him as one who was long lost but finally found. The story also tells of the other son who felt very annoyed that the brother who has squandered his inheritance was being given red-carpet treatment upon his return, while he, who had toiled faithfully for his father had nothing to show for it.

The world needs more leaders with the mentality of the boy’s father. He knew that his son had done wrong but hoped that the boy would return one day. He prepared for his return. There was a fattened calf and a robe waiting. The boy must have been stinking like a pig from his close association with the animals; that did not matter to his father. Instead of asking him to account for the wealth he had entrusted, the father welcomed him home.

On his part, the boy knew that he had done wrong. Long before he started the journey home, he thought of the apology he would give to his father for all the things he had done wrongly. He was also prepared to make amends.

The boy also expected to be placed in a lower position than he had been in. One of the lessons here is that of taking personal responsibility for our actions. Most people will look for excuses for their mistakes. It is crucial to carry out an honest self-evaluation and decide what went wrong and how you will make amends for it.

OWNER MENTALITY

Then there is the other brother who had worked for his father without having been given anything for his work. Don’t we have such people in organisations? They are people who wonder when they will be recognised for their work.

The father said wisely that everything that was in the farm belonged to the boy. All of us should work with the mentality of an owner, and not of a worker.

Organisations are about people, and people are known to make mistakes. Some people are entrusted with huge responsibilities, and when they make a mistake, there are several people waiting to bring them down. I challenge you to look for the best in others, to anticipate that they will turn out alright and to rejoice when people try to make amends for the wrongs they have done.

After all, to err is human: to forgive is divine!