Time to give up

A man has a business that is failing and his son says, "Time to give up, dad."

The father takes his son to a well and says, "Jump in." The son hesitates, so the dad pushes him in.

After treading water trying to save his life, the dad reaches in and gets the boy after five minutes.

The next day, the father does the same thing and tells his son to jump in the well. This time the son jumps in and struggles for fifteen minutes before dad reaches in.

The father asks the son, "What made things different this time?"

The son responds, "I knew you would save me."

As leaders (particularly sales leaders) we are duty bound to help, mentor, and coach our team members. But don't "save" your reps too quickly. Let them swim, struggle, and tread water before you reach in.

"The learning is in the struggle." - Sherri Dew