10th April 2025
Every new intern in out office has to pass the ETHICS test.
We strongly believe in the motto – ‘Hire Character – Train skill’ and nothing illustrates the importance of it more than the below tale.
Lt Gen Sir Frederick Stanley Maude KCB, CMG, DSO was a British Army officer. He was known for his operations in the Mesopotamian campaign during the First World War & for conquering Baghdad in 1917.
Upon arrival to Iraq he came across a shepherd and his herd in a field.
He asked his translator to offer a shilling to the shepherd to slaughter the dog.
The dog is a very important companion to a shepherd.
It warns him of all dangers & guards the herd from wolves & thieves.
But at that time, with a shilling one could buy a lot.
The shepherd agreed to the deal, grabbed his dog & slaughtered it at the feet of the general.
General Maude said to the shepherd, “I’ll give you an additional Shilling to skin the dog”.
The shepherd took the Shilling and skinned the dog.
Then the General offered the shepherd a third Shilling to cut the dog into quarters, the shepherd took the Shilling and chopped the dog.
The Shepherd told the General that for a fourth Shilling he would eat the dog, and the general answered, “I wanted to learn about your values in this country, and I discovered that you slaughtered, skinned and chopped your most trusted friend & companion for 3 Shillings. You were even ready to eat it for an additional one. That’s all I needed to learn about your country.”
Then he addressed his soldiers and said,
“As long as this kind of mentality prevails in this country & you can buy anyone, don’t fear anything and no one.”
The Chinese built the Great Wall to defend against invaders at great cost but apart from others, Genghis Khan successfully breached the wall by bribing a messenger to open a gate for him.
in 1644, the Ming dynasty was betrayed to invading Manchu forces by a turncoat General who simply let the enemy army in.
Building of Character is more important than building great walls & raising great armies.
Let’s start with our family & children.
Let’s focus on character, let’s teach and lead them by example – great walls will get built automatically.
Build character, train skill & stay blessed forever.