I am now a consultant

The Ministry of Tourism in Rome had a problem. It seemed that hundreds of cates prowled the city's famous sites, scavenging food in trash cans and yowling at all hours. Tourism was declining and the number of complaints led the Ministry to conclude that the cats were the cause of the problem.

First, they decided to destroy all the cats, but someone suggested that they could save. money if they destroyed only the cats of one sex. Without mates, the cate population would gradually decrease. Then someone suggested that they could save even more money if they did a study of the cat population and discovered which sex had fewer members.

The study was completed and it was discovered that there were several hundred female cats and only one male cat who protected his territory with zeal. They decided to capture and destroy the male cat and thus solve the problem.

A newspaper picked up the story and reported it. Overnight the male cat, now named Rudolph, after Rudolph Valentino, became a local hero. Protestors marched in front of the Ministry of Tourism demanding that Rudolph be allowed to live. Faced with this opposition, the Ministry decided that instead of killing Rudolph, they would have him neutered.

One night, the fateful deed was done.

Soon the female cats discovered what had happened.

They began to call mournfully for their champion. Their yowling rang through the night. Neighbouring tomcats, learning that the city was now open to competition, began arriving from the surrounding areas. To their surprise, they found Rudolph strutting haughtily down the main thoroughfare, exacting tributes in return for allowing each tomcat entry to his domain.

"Why do you parade down the street with such pride when you can no longer perform?" he was asked.

"No longer am I an ordinary cat," he answered, "I am now a consultant."

From Stories From A Corporate Coach, Richard Winfield, 2013