In every speech that I give, every column I write, every person or group that I mentor, my goal is to leave my audience with plenty of take-home value.
I could teach from a textbook and give lots of facts and case studies, but I don't. I use stories because people can easily relate to the points I make. Here's some food for thought.
Know who has your back. We can learn much from observing geese in flight. First, people who share a common direction and a sense of community get where they are going more quickly and easily because they rely on the strength of each other.
Second, stay in formation and accept help when it is needed, and offer help when others need it.
Third, geese instinctively share the task of leadership and do not resent the leader.
Fourth, when a goose is sick, wounded or shot down, two others drop out of formation to follow it down to earth to protect it. They remain with the wounded bird until it is well or dies.
Teamwork. Many years ago in Austria, they had a custom that helped villagers size up the future happiness of a newly married couple. After the wedding at the local church, the village women would escort the bride and groom to a nearby forest and stand them before a large tree. They would then hand the young couple a two-handled bucksaw and ask that they use it to fell the tree.
The closer the cooperation between the man and wife, the shorter the time it took for the tree to come down. And the older villagers wisely reasoned that, the shorter the time, the happier the young couple would be — because they had learned that most valuable of marital lessons — teamwork!