Be the Taillight that Leads Others

Source: The Internet

During a conference meeting, I came across a young and able entrepreneur, Mr. Lee. I had already heard about the legend of how Mr. Lee started his business. Hence, I asked him what his secret of setting up his business was. Mr. Lee told me a story.

It was five years ago and Mr. Lee was still working in a multinational company. Not only was their boss a successful entrepreneur who owned many companies in different countries, he was also a professor. He was an academic type of businessman who possessed both brilliant business ideas and highly acclaimed academic achievement. It was because of this that Mr. Lee decided to work for his company. Due to Mr. Lee’s hard work and his constant business ideas, his boss quickly promoted him as the departmental manager, specialising in furniture sales. He never put a foot wrong.

Once, the company bought a set of furniture and its resale price was set for 200 thousand dollars. However, for some unknown reasons, the furniture remained unsold for four months; not one single customer enquired about it. Fortunately, a customer finally came in and expressed an instant interest in the set of furniture. After enquiring about the price, he wanted a bit of discount and asked Mr. Lee whether he would sell it for 180 thousand dollars. Mr. Lee also wanted to sell it very much. However, his boss only gave him the authority to reduce the price by a maximum of ten thousand dollars. Coincidentally, the customer was also stubborn and said that if they could not do it for 180 thousand dollars, then he would not buy it. After negotiating for a long time, Mr. Lee wanted to telephone his boss for advice, however, he was away on business and his mobile phone was switched off. Mr. Lee was scared of making a decision without authorisation and thus the deal failed.

Two days later, his boss returned and Mr. Lee reported about that sale negotiation. The boss expressed his displeasure. He asked Mr. Lee, “Do you not know how difficult it is to dispose of this set of furniture?  You should have known what I’ve been thinking. Since nobody has expressed any interest for the past four months, this shows that the set of furniture doesn't have much of a selling point, and should have been sold at the earliest opportunity. Never mind 180 thousand dollars, you should have sold it for even 170 thousand dollars. Next time, you may not even be able to sell it for 160 thousand dollars.”

Mr. Lee lowered his head in grief. He thought to himself: “How can I be so daring.” His boss saw his face, smiled generously and said, “ It’s alright, just bring the car round and let’s go for dinner.”

Once they were in the car, Mr. Lee started the engine. There was fog in the air and there were many cars on the road. Therefore, he drove slowly. After ten minutes or so, the fog grew thicker and the road condition worsened.
His boss was not anxious at all. He asked Mr. Lee, “How do you drive more safely under such foggy condition?”
Mr. Lee said, “As long as I follow the taillight of the car in front, I’ll be safe.”
His boss was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, “Whose taillight will you follow if your car is in the front of the queue?”

After hearing this, Mr. Lee trembled from inside. He thought: “That’s right!  Who will show me the way if I'm in the front of the queue?”  Mr. Lee immediately realised what his boss really meant. In normal circumstances, you can rely on your superior to make decisions for you so that you do not have to share the burden. However, in special circumstances, you must use your ‘wisdom eye’, watch carefully how you will travel on the road ahead; use your own brain to differentiate the advantages and disadvantages; and choose the direction you want to go. Who can Bill Gates follow?  Those who only follow in the taillights of others will never become leaders.

Ever since that incident, Mr. Lee was even more outstanding at work. Not long, he discovered a completely new and undeveloped business territory. Due to his hard work and a razor sharp business mind, he quickly became successful.

Therefore, the secret of his success is summed up in one short sentence: ‘Be the taillight that leads others’.