Aesop Tie

Persuasion v. Force – No. 1. The North Wind and the Sun – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” Leonardo da Vinci. Adopted by Steve Jobs.

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The North Wind and the Sun debated who was more powerful.

They agreed that the more powerful would be the one who could strip the Traveler of his cloak more quickly.

The North Wind blew and blew, each time with more force, but the Traveler only held his cloak more tightly.

Then, the Sun turned on the heat, slowly and surely.

The Traveler, overcome with heat, voluntarily took off his cloak.

The Moral of the Story: Persuasion is more powerful than force.

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Introduction – The Essential Aesop – Epilogue

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Why We Loved It: This fable is presented first in both The Essential Aesop [1] and The Business of Aesop [2] for good reason:

The ever-present essential science and art of moving people.

Aesop counterpoints two of his primal forces of nature: the Sun and the North Wind, each possessing a different method of effecting change by movement of things.

This fable is different than The Fisherman and His Flute, because, here, each of Aesop’s actors has the power to impose their respective will upon the target object. [3]

So we behold Persuasion and Force, with the Sun representing Persuasion and the North Wind representing Force. But there is a subtle irony here, because the patient Sun might also be thought naturally superior to the North Wind. Indeed, the North Wind might be powerful, but the North Wind’s World revolves around the Sun. The North Wind needs the Sun, but the Sun does not need the North Wind.

The thing about power is that it has the choice of immediacy in tactic to the objective. It is derivative to say that “Patience is a virtue,” because patience is one implementation of the Cardinal Virtue of Temperance, sometimes known as “Discipline.” [4]

Wisdom chooses the tactic, but Discipline holds the line. [5] Thus, the adage, “Disciplina custos est integritatis.” (“Discipline is the keeper of integrity.”) And failure in discipline occurs all the time in business, sooner or later; that is, applying force where persuasion would ultimately be more effective. Power tends to be pushy. [6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

But, here’s the thing, real power is self-control, which is restraint, which is discipline. [11]

With some irony, it has been said that it takes more work to write a short essay, because it requires more control. Similarly, it takes work and discipline to persuade, so our tendency is to use authority and power to impose a result by force. But, impositions by force tend to be short-term, because there is inherent resistance, by definition. There is a natural tendency to begrudgement. Therefore, protest and rebellion loom.

Particularly for the powerful, it is so easy to forget that we need to persuade others voluntarily to a belief, as Master Leadership Guru Dale Carnegie said, “A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still.” And President Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Pull the string, and it will follow wherever you wish. Push it, and it will go nowhere at all.”

In this fable, Aesop suggests that the wildly blowing North Wind just made the target subject protest and rebel all the more effectively. The Sun? Well, the Sun just slowly turned up the heat, slowly, patiently. The Traveler then volunteered to take off his coat.

I have with me two gods, Persuasion and Compulsion.”  ~ Themistocles

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[1] The Essential Aesop LinkedIn Article Index [#GRZ_144]

[2] Persuasion and Force – Business of Aesop™ No. 1 – The North Wind and Sun. [#GRZ_1]

[3] Stick to the Business You Know – No. 96. The Fisherman and His Flute – The Essential Aesop™ – Back to Basics Abridgment Series [#GRZ_98_96]

[4] Hope, Prayer, Trust and Reliance Upon Luck; Or, the Ignoble Handouts Oft by Noble Emotions [#GRZ_137]

[5] Critical Thinking and the Conflation of Character, Integrity, Goodness and Virtue [#GRZ_148]

[6] The Recipe to Make Bud Wiser [Branding, Part I] [#GRZ_142]

[7] Marlboro Man; You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby. [Branding, Part II] [#GRZ_143]

[8] The Academy Awards and Bud Light Parallels, Gone Sideways with the Wind? [#GRZ_147]

[9] Mind Control, Protests and the Goal – Stand for America® [#GRZ_64]

[10] Kicking Around Big Ideas; Or, NFL Lessons in Human Nature and Political Philosophy [#GRZ_192]

[11] The Evolution of Revolution; Or Stopping the Revolution at 180°, And Not Going Full Circle [#GRZ_172]

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“Disciplina custos est integritatis.” (“Discipline is the keeper of integrity.”); “Primum sapientiam, deinde disciplinam.” (“Wisdom first, then discipline.”); “Viribus optime ostensum est in sua continentia.” (“Power is best shown in its own restraint.”); “Prima lex potentiae est quomodo impedita.” (“The first law of power is how it is to be controlled.”); “Sapientia ars eligit, sed disciplina rectam tenet.” (“Wisdom chooses the tactic, but Discipline holds the line.”) ~ grz


* Gregg Zegarelli, Esq., earned both his Bachelor of Arts Degree and his Juris Doctorate from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His dual major areas of study were History from the College of Liberal Arts and Accounting from the Business School (qualified to sit for the CPA examination), with dual minors in Philosophy and Political Science. He has enjoyed Adjunct Professorships in the Duquesne University Graduate Leadership Master Degree Program (The Leader as Entrepreneur; Developing Leadership Character Through Adversity) and the University of Pittsburgh Law School (The Anatomy of a Deal). He is admitted to various courts throughout the United States of America.

Gregg Zegarelli, Esq., is Managing Shareholder of Technology & Entrepreneurial Ventures Law Group, PC. Gregg is nationally rated as “superb” and has more than 35 years of experience working with entrepreneurs and companies of all sizes, including startups, INC. 500, and publicly traded companies. He is author of One: The Unified Gospel of Jesus, and The Business of Aesop™ article series, and co-author with his father, Arnold Zegarelli, of The Essential Aesop: For Business, Managers, Writers and Professional Speakers. Gregg is a frequent lecturer, speaker and faculty for a variety of educational and other institutions.

© 2013 Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. and Arnold Zegarelli. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn. Arnold Zegarelli can be contacted through Facebook.

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