#100WordsOrLess The men around the table were silent. The only sound that was audible was the rhythmic squeak of the Chairman’s cane against the marble floor. He walked around the room looking at each one of them, slightly stooped with age and yet, larger than life. He stopped at the far end of the room, right behind his heir apparent and beside a glass case. Some of them curiously squinted to see what was in the case, but they couldn’t figure it out. It was something that the Chairman had kept a secret for a while now – his legacy to the company. ‘Gentlemen, I cannot begin to describe…’ Today was his last day – he was bidding goodbye to the institution that he had built brick by brick. -- The little boy ran as fast as his legs could carry, weaving in and out of the crowd at the marketplace. He put his hand inside his tattered shirt, in a futile effort to shield the precious cargo in his hand from the rain. It would be worthless wet. -- ‘… I certainly hope I’m leaving the company in able hands. Along the way, there will numerous downs – difficult times, times when we fail, times when we will feel overwhelmed by the world around us...’ He looked directly at his successor. ‘Remember, I started this company by selling cigars on street corners. If I can get this far from there, you certainly can go a lot further. Never give up. And as a small reminder.’ He pressed a switch and the glass case lit up for all to see. Inside it was a tattered cigar cover. The entire room got up on its feet. Grown men, each one of them a veteran, tried to convey a lifetime of admiration towards their Chairman in their applause – a man who had not merely built a company, but had embodied its values. -- The boy reached the street corner and found his customer waiting for him there. He took out the cigars and saw that the rain had soaked through the cover, but the cigars were intact. His customer paid for the cigars, placed them in his pocket case and was about to move on. He still hadn’t decided how to end his speech. The discarded and tattered cigar cover caught the end of his cane and he bent down to pick it off the bottom. He knew how we was going to end it now.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 14:01:09 +0000
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