Want Your Job, Baron

ome time ago Baron Von Lodge was the head of a small country near Switzerland known as Lilliland.

One afternoon, there was a knock at the Baron’s castle door that was answered by a member of the Baron’s staff. When the man was asked the nature of his business, he replied that he wanted to apply to be the Baron of Lilliland. The butler said that the job was already filled and that there were no applications for the position as the Baron.

This inquiry, while appearing strange, was brought to the attention of the Baron personally, and his chief advisor, Professor Hamblin.

As it was a curious request, the Baron and Professor talked about it at some length. While the Baron inherited his title and position by birthright, it was not always in the best interest of any monarchy. Why was it the conclusion that any child of any king was automatically qualified to inherit the monarchy of any kingdom?

What if the child was disinterested, or mentally unqualified, or as an adult, not a rational person in making important decisions of state?

History was full of leaders that had gone off the deep end too many times. Usually, a council of advisors to the king tried to help keep the decisions of the king in their proper perspective.

The Baron turned to the Professor and Lady Angela of Alpine Castle and said, “That’s your job, isn’t it?” And they both nodded yes.

“Over the years, I have not made any major blunders, by not making decisions in haste, and by trying to make sure that all of the facts pertinent to the decision are complete and accurate. A decision based on a set of incomplete facts tends to make an incomplete decision. I’ve also tried to test any decision against the short term, intermediate term, and long term consequences of the decision. I also asked how my father would have handled the decision. As a result of this, the decisions seemed to work out most of the time. But no matter how hard I tried to make the right decision, there have been times when things just didn’t work out as anticipated or expected. Then it is important that you admit to yourself that you were wrong and try to correct or amend the matter rather than stick to a decision that is not working and trying to force a situation that is just not right.”

That is when good friends are there to help bring things in line and moving in the proper direction. The Professor and Lady Angela were just such special people who helped mold the future of Lilliland.