atekeepers

aron Von Lodge was the head of a small country known as Lilliland near Switzerland. The time was the early 1900s.

Lilliland Castle where the Baron lived and worked was a well-run organization. The staff was well trained and very polite to all visitors. The Baron knew it was up to him to set the tone of his organization. He functioned under a relatively fixed schedule. His appointment secretary was Rachel Ritter, the daughter of a retired diplomat, and she kept things running very efficiently, or so the Baron thought.

The traditional gatekeepers of olden times guarded the castle gates to keep the enemy out and to protect the royal family no matter in what country the castle was located. In the early 1900s, the castle gates were always open to all who had state business.

While Mrs. Ritter, the appointment secretary, was very efficient for many years, the Baron noticed that she seemed to have a lot of fresh flowers and chocolates in her office every day.

The Baron thought light of this until, on one occasion, while he was talking to his chief advisor, Professor Hamblin, the subject came up regarding Mrs. Ritter’s attitude. The Professor looked into the matter and observed that the people who had appointments with the Baron always brought along a box of chocolates or flowers or some other gift for Mrs. Ritter. Those who did not have an appointment were kept waiting or had their appointment changed at the last minute. Rachel Ritter would also engage in special interviews and would turn away people who she did not like.

The Baron found out about this and became quite upset. No more flowers and chocolates would be accepted by the appointment secretary, and there would be no more special interviews.

The Baron learned early in his career that the person he would be speaking with was expected to bring not only good news, and he would not lose his position if he brought bad news, but the facts of the situation or problem. Mrs. Ritter was eventually transferred to a position where she could not come in contact with the public.

Both the Baron and the Professor agreed that the road to disaster was paved with people who were more interested in not presenting bad news because it might jeopardize their jobs. They tried to present the bad news in a more favorable light.

They quickly learned that the Baron wanted the facts of a situation as objectively as possible. That was probably why the leadership of Lilliland had survived over a century.