Why Teamwork? What Are The Benefits?
July 11, 2008
The Rabbit and The Turtle Race
Remember the famous Rabbit-Turtle race (Tortoise and the Hare)? We all know that at the end of the story the Rabbit was not able to win the race against the Turtle.
Well, this is actually not the end of the story. After a disgraceful loss to the Turtle, the Rabbit decided to have a race again. This time, he decided, he would not take a nap.
The race started & soon the Rabbit was far away from the sight of the Turtle & all the spectators. This time he didn't stop & defeated the Turtle by a big margin.
The Turtle lost the race this time; however, he didn't give up. He challenged the Rabbit again on a different racetrack. The Rabbit, full of confidence, accepted it. He knew the reason he lost earlier: his laziness during the first race. He was able to win the second race because he was able to work on it.
The Third Race started. The Rabbit, like always, soon disappeared. Everyone was laughing at the Turtle but the Rabbit didn't want to stop to see why & kept on running as fast as he could. He wanted to defeat the Turtle by a much bigger margin than the earlier race. Suddenly, he came to a river. He was not able to make out how to cross it & was forced to stop.
After some time the Turtle reached the river & very confidently stepped into it. He swam much faster than he could ever run. Within no time he crossed the river & moved towards the finishing point while the Rabbit helplessly looked on as the Turtle won the race.
The story does not end here.
After the first race, the Rabbit learned that he lost it because of his laziness.
After second race, the Turtle learned that he lost the race because his opponent was actually good at running.
After the third race, the Rabbit learned that being faster is not enough; one should have brains as well to complete the task.
The Rabbit & the Turtle decided to run again. This time it was just running & not a race.
While running, until they reached the river, the Rabbit put the Turtle on his back. Once they needed to cross the river, the Turtle put the Rabbit on his back. After crossing the river, the Rabbit again put the Turtle on his back & both of them reached the finishing point in less time than ever.
What did they learn?
They both learned that with teamwork they can finish the same task quicker & both of them can enjoy the reward. During the time they were competing against one another, just one of them was able to win after wasting a lot of time & energy.
--- Written in 2008 by Sanjeev Kumar Singh --- India
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