Creatures of Habbit

This is a short story that illustrates some challenges we face when dealing with Habitual Creatures such as you and I.

The story goes this way: Once upon a time, in the beautiful land of animals (humans), rain fell very hard and the river grew and flooded the banks where most of the animals habited. The animals decided to cross to the other side of the river where there is higher ground. Some of the animals that could not cross on their own got assistance from their peers by sitting on there backs or flying on their wings. The Scorpio was the only one that had a hard time getting assistance. All the animals were afraid the Scorpio will sting them if they tried to help. The Scorpio started to beg the tall animals, and promised them that he will not sting any of them. A peaceful Giraffe decided to believe the Scorpio and help him out.

Before he put the Scorpio on his back they had an intense conversation that went something like this 'Giraffe - are you sure you will not sting me? Scorpio - how can I do such a thing to the one person that agreed to help me? Besides, if I sting you, both of us will drown as we cross the river.' The Scorpio's statement was very convincing that the Giraffe leaned down and asked him to climb up unto his back. The Scorpio did so, and the Giraffe started crossing the river. Half way through the river, the Scorpio stung the Giraffe. Right before the Giraffe fell, he asked - 'why did you do that', the Scorpio responded - 'stinging is what I do even when it is against my best interest.'

The leadership question here is - what do you do with those creatures of habit in your circle that you need to manage and lead. I recommend bullet-proofing yourself against their destructive habits. The Giraffe should have wrapped himself up with a strong protection (such as fiber glass) to mitigate the effects of the Scorpio’s sting, because STING, the Scorpio must.