A Thought…

The outgoing CEO had some words of advice for his incoming successor: “When a crisis arises, and it will, I’ve prepared 3 numbered envelopes for you. I’ll leave them in this bottom drawer. Be sure to read them in order.”

A year later, sales were really bad, so the new CEO opened up Envelope #1. It contained a sheet of paper with a single sentence: “Blame everything on your predecessor.”

That seemed to placate everyone for a while, but 2 years later, middle management was ravaged by feuds and resignations, so the boss opened up Envelope #2. It contained a sheet of paper with a single word: “Reorganize!”

And that worked for a while as well, but after 3 years the company’s stock value had tanked and the shareholders were calling for the CEO’s head on a platter. Desperate, he opened up Envelope #3. It contained a sheet of paper that began with the advice: “Prepare 3 envelopes …”

   — Richard S Russell, Non Sequitur comic letters