Why You Should Never Be A $10,000 Parrot
In his book The Heart of Business, Hubert Joly, the former CEO of Best Buy, vividly describes the story of the $10,000 parrot. The story is too good not to share.
The story goes like this:
The $100 parrot
A woman walks into a bird store and sees a parrot. "How much is this parrot?" she asks.
"A hundred dollars," says the store owner.
"This parrot is special: it can speak over a hunderd words, makes coffee, and reads the newspaper."
The $1,000 parrot
The customer nods and sees another parrot, which sells for a thousand dollars.
"That parrot," explains the store owner, "is even more special: it speaks five languages, makes a full breakfast, and delivers press briefings."
The $10,000 parrot
There is a third parrot, however.
When she asks how much that parrot costs, the customer is shocked to find out that it costs $10,000.
What could this parrot possibly do to justify such a premium?
"No one knows," the store owner replies.
"But the other two call it 'boss.'"
Moral of the story
Never be a $10,000 parrot. Don't be such a boss. Just don't.
