The Three Envelopes

 The following is a story I heard when I was at primary school, our principal said this story during our weekly assembly, don't know why but I still remember it. Reading the daily news and watching people closely, I see that this story is repeating and it is still relevant. 

The Three Envelopes

    Mark, the C.E.O of a multinational company is sitting at his chair in his luxurious office. Today is his last day at the office. He is waiting for the new C.E.O Steve to arrive at his office and have a one-last conversation. The new C.E.O arrived and they shook hands, chatted a bit and Mark said, "I have a gift for you, Steve. I want you to have this it helped me during difficult times here. Open each envelope when you have a major crisis." 

    Mark handed over a box that contained three sealed envelopes. Mark said, "This was given to me by the C.E.O. before me." Saying this Mark waved goodbye and walked out the door. 

    Days went by, Steve is in charge now and he is doing his best to run the company successfully and everyone likes him. The honeymoon period didn't last long, Steve is not able to show any major results in the company's performance.  The board members and investors started complaining and showed doubts about the abilities of the new C.EO. Suddenly Steve remembered about the envelopes gifted by Mark. 

    He rushed to his office to find the box, he picked up the envelope that was marked "1" and opened it to read. The message in it simply read "Blame the former C.E.O." He thought about it for a while and asked his assistant to call for a board member meeting. At the meeting, Steve announced that all the trouble that the company is facing is due to the mistakes of former C.E.O Mark and Steve is working very hard to rectify it, he assured that in next three months all these problems will be solved. Everyone clapped hands and went their own way.

    Months passed by and Steve implemented new changes to the organization to improve the performance. Yet the board members were not satisfied. Due to the pressure, he opened the second envelope, this time it read "Blame someone and fire them." The next day, Steve fired few key employees for not meeting their targets and hired new well-qualified ones. Everyone clapped hands and minded their own business.

    Again months went by and still, the board members are not happy, Steve without a second thought opened the third envelope and it read "Blame it on yourself and write your resignation letter." P.S - Seal these envelopes and pass them on to the next C.E.O.