The Attraction of Freedom

Posted August 22nd, 2007

Larry, the guide, asked the people visiting Independence Hall to tell him our homes. In a group of twenty, four or five of the states were represented. What interested me was that Gambon, Togo, China, Romania, and Brazil were also represented. What caused those young people from other parts of the world to show up at Independence Hall on a Saturday morning? And why were there people of ages from six to seventy there together?

There is something attractive for humans in hearing about those who declared independence, who developed articles of confederation, and who constituted a country. Larry did an excellent job telling the story, and I took a photo of a tiny girl of six from North Carolina listening intently to Larry, the tall guide, who was from Philadelphia. I observed that all of us were engaged in the story, not because we had to listen, but because we wanted to listen. Humans are drawn to a good story, and what occurred in Independence Hall is a wonderful story.

If organizations can enable those in the work to experience freedom in how they accomplish the work, they will create an attractive company that can retain good people who will tell wonderful stories to others. What attractive stories are being told about your business? What attractive stories will your children tell about home?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 at 10:37 am and is filed under Learning from Children, Observations.