Ye of little faith, the Lessons from Geese are inspirational and for some people life changing. Two friends of mine absolutely loved this list and thank me over and over for it.
Lessons from Geese
FACT 1:
As each goose flaps its wings it creates an "uplift" for the birds that follow. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.
LESSON:
People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going quicker and easier because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.
FACT 2:
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.
LESSON:
If we have as much sense as a goose we stay in formation with those headed where we want to go. We are willing to accept their help and give our help to others.
FACT 3:
When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into formation and another goose flies to the point position.
LESSON:
It pays to take turns doing the hard tasks and sharing leadership. As with geese, people are interdependent on each other's skills, capabilities and unique arrangements of gifts, talents or resources.
FACT 4:
The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.
LESSON:
We need to make sure our honking is encouraging. In groups where there is encouragement, the production is much greater. The power of encouragement (to stand by one's heart or core values and encourage the heart and core of others) is the quality of honking we seek.
FACT 5:
When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then, they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.
LESSON:
If we have as much sense as geese, we will stand by each other in difficult times as well as when we are strong.
sources:
http://www.missico.com/personal/thought ... _geese.htm
http://suewidemark.com/lessonsgeese.htm
Notes:
"LESSONS FROM GEESE" was transcribed from a speech given by Angeles Arrien at the 1991 Organizational Development Network and was based on the work of Milton Olson. It circulated to Outward Bound staff throughout the United States.
http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/leader/geese.html
But this apparently was not the first documented appearance of the article (which by the way, has been translated into several languages including France, Spanish and Japanese! The first appearance I could trace was as follows (in 1988)
"A Lesson from the Geese" appeared in the November 1988 edition of Nebraska Synod (ELCCA) Update, where it was credited to Milton Olson.
(This is a Lutheran magazine.)
http://www.aikentdc.org/resources/inspi ... /geese.htm
The authors occasionally mentioned are as follows:
By Milton Olson or Ryugen Fisher or Robert McNeish
Your posts always cheer me up! Looking at this screen-filling pic I can get a taste of the joy of being amidst that happy throng!
