The Village by Cal Haupt

The Village

published June 21, 2006

There is a quaint little village nestled in a clearing near beautiful trees flanked by a bountiful creek fed by a fresh spring. The village consists of hundreds with varying personalities and agendas. The village’s geographic location has a 9-month springtime and a 3-month winter weather cycle.

Within the village you have experts in hunting, fishing, wood collection, water collection, cooking, skinning, human medicine, furniture making, veterinary medicine, security and a mayor to coordinate.  During the spring time everyone is happy and the hunters bring back deer for protein, the fisher’s bring back fish for omega 3 oils, wood collectors warm the cool evenings and cook the food, skinners prepare the food for cooking, water collectors hydrate the village, doctors treat the wounds to prevent infection, furniture makers make the chairs and tables to prepare the food and consume it, the Vet’s keep the horses healthy to hall the wood so they are more efficient, and the mayor ensures everyone respects others right to live and be safe.

Hunters can do their job knowing other villagers are executing their unique skill. The hunters drink water, eat, and are warm after hunting due to the water collectors, cookers, and wood collectors doing their duty. Each knows the ramification of their responsibility on other villagers.  Together working in harmony, everyone in the village flourishes.  Every year spring turns into winter for 2-3 months depending on the village’s relationship to the other planets in its solar system.

Every year the village must be reminded how important everyone’s responsibility is to the village.  Without hunters, there is no protein and the village becomes weak and the wood collectors cannot carry wood and the village starves and becomes cold. Without the water collectors, the village becomes dehydrated, the hunters cannot hunt and the cookers cannot cook; therefore, the village becomes weak.  Without the cookers, the village does not eat and they starve becoming weak preventing them from hunting for food or collecting wood for heat. Without human medicine, people get sick and the burden shifts to the healthy, which in turn burdens the remaining villagers that ultimately stress them out and make them sick too.

The village can adapt to a fisher person being sick or off their game by moving a hunter into the fishing role. And to replace a hunter, a furniture maker can be taught to hunt and a water collector can be taught to make furniture; however, the remaining water collector has to carry twice the water. The remaining water carrier is ok with this burden since the fisher person is rarely unable to fish. This is part of the life cycle of the village.

If the village loses sight of the common goal of everyone flourishing and being happy, by thinking their part is not important or distractions take them away from their common responsibility, the village slowly suffers. Depending on the size of the village, the village can have 2-5 distracted key people and remain stable; however, if the village gets the 1 additional distracted person, the village weakens and threatens the existence of all.

Every season, the village is reminded that every year 2-3 months requires additional diligence at each important job and that each job is codependent to ensure the village flourishes. Each new season brings the possibility of a bigger fish, a warmer fire, fresher water, or a bigger village. The Village controls its destiny.

The End.

"A company is only as strong as the trust and mutual respect built on the knowledge that we are all dependent on each other to accomplish our common goals.  Together many can achieve more than one and together we all flourish"

Cal Haupt, Chairman and CEO, Southeast Mortgage of Georgia, Inc. 

www.southeastmortgage.com
770-279-0222