Apple War--

This next story is given a little with tongue in cheek, it's hard to tell a story that could give some people an idea to throw large pieces of fruit at each other’s heads. Maybe that's why I've always liked the three stooges.

Throughout my life I have heard many analogies about boats and the sea. I grew up far from any ocean and spent no time on a ship. Those that have spent much time on a ship or boat would tell you how important the helm and rudder is. If broken no matter how wonderful or magnificent your vessel is you could be lost at sea. Without the ability to steer the ship and to change the course when needed, you would be better off on the pier.

I grew up in a small town where most people continued to plant gardens and orchards in their back yards. One day some of my friends and I heard that my brother and some of our other friends were building a fort under an apple tree in the middle of our block. To a twelve-year-old boy this is as great as Disneyland. As we approached their location it became obvious they didn't want us to join their group as they began to throw apples in our direction to keep us away.

The apple tree was next to a garden; across the garden was another orchard with a number of apple trees. We ran up to my house and with the help of another brother we found fishing net in the garage. Why there was fishing a net in the garage is beyond me as we lives more the seven hundred miles from the nearest ocean. Who ever owned the house before us had left it behind. We took our net and secured it between two trees across the garden from their fort.

What ensued was the battle of all battles as we began to throw apples in each other’s direction. It became obvious in a short period of time that our fortress was far superior to that of our opponents. We could easily step out from our net and throw apples and then step back behind the net as they would throw theirs. We even put boxes at the bottom of the net that would collect their apples making it unnecessary to pick new ammunition.

I remember sitting behind our net thinking we were far superior to our opponents. As we were basking in our intelligence all of the sudden something hit me in the face and other objects began to fly through our net making it worthless. Our opponents had cheated and had found a plum tree not far away. The plums were small enough to penetrate the net leaving no protection from the flying fruit.

Life is very similar to our apple fight. As individuals and companies get complacent and stand securely behind what we have always done or the way we have always done business. Our opponents or advisories are continually changing their approach or direction trying to get the advantage. This requires us to always be evaluating our situation and making the necessary changes long before it's too late.