Story of the Aging Lion King
The Lion, King of the Forest, was old. He developed a hearing problem. His vision was also impaired. He could no longer run fast. He was unable to hunt. His Pride had deserted him. Often he had to go without food for long periods of time.
This Lion was an Autocrat who thrived on power. He was impatient and would often say “you do this I have neither patience nor time to listen to you". He exercised authority over other inferior animals and expected submissiveness and obedience from them. He hated to be questioned, contradicted or criticized.
As the number of animals in the jungle grew and became unwieldy, the Lion started to frame a number of rules and regulations for the animals to follow. In the process the Lion also bureaucratized his kingdom. He started dividing the animals into various groups and asked them to hunt for certain type of food from specified areas. This was initially based on their core competencies, knowledge of jungle, and hunting skills. The Elephant would clear the problems, the Fox would give him counsel, the Monkey would bring him the fruits, the Rabbit would fetch him the nuts, the Crow would tell him the news and so it went on. He also arranged the animals in a hierarchy. This was however not based upon their competence but was strictly based on how sweetly and softly they roared in the jungle. This led to a situation where a very competent Elephant had to report to a Fox and the Tiger who had a more ferocious roar having to report to an older Hyena which satisfied and softened the Lion. Soon the Foxes, the Snakes, the Hyenas and the Wild Dogs reached the top echelons. They all got used to behaving like the Lion.
While there was Division of Labor in the jungle, it unfortunately failed to encourage the Specialists. The reason was the emphasis on the quantum of food by the Lion. The Lion was very fond of its food and wanted more of it as it grew older and more powerful. All the animals had to fetch this food. If they did, they would be given a small part of the Jungle which was like their personal fiefdom. The animals started getting the food by hook or crook, competing with each other and got the fiefdoms in return. Once they got their fiefdom they lost the appetite to run for more food and slowly became over dependent on other smaller animals in their fiefdoms. Quantity over Quality was emphasized and the food wasn’t good enough to nurture a healthy body and mind. The animals in the kingdom became weak and debilitated.
The other animals, which would not get the food, were given certain other duties. However, these were not considered as important by the Lion. These animals started getting demotivated since, they lost their competencies, and they were doing jobs and duties that they were not good at and lost their importance in the Jungle. But what kept them together in the jungle was the availability of plenty of food. The abundance of rivers, trees, fruits, nuts and smaller animals ensured that the food was sufficient for all to share. The Lion also ensured that all the animals in the jungle had a cave to live in. When they could not hunt any longer, they could live in their caves and sufficient food would be provided to them. With this security and benefits, the animals though degenerating started to depend even more on the Lion and his overt benevolence
When the Lion found that his orders were not getting executed and food was not reaching on expected lines, he sat with the Fox and framed a number of processes to be followed in the jungle. These processes had to be strictly complied with and could not be deviated. The Lion also formed a team of dogs whose duty was to verify constantly and inform him that these processes were being strictly followed. All these Rules, Processes, Hierarchy and Division of Labor not only slowed down the hunt for food but also distanced the Lion from the animals in the jungle. He became impersonal and blinded. The Foxes and the Hyenas ensured that hatred and passion, affection and nepotism found place, making the Lion an imperfect leader. They became power centers and even more powerful than the Lion.
It was at this juncture the news reached the jungle that much younger, stronger and powerful Lions which had a number of other animals under their control were going to come there, since they knew that the jungle was rich in resources and they could get plenty of food. These migrating Lions were leaner, meaner and different. They were strong, successful, hunted in packs and supported their animals that hunted in packs. Their animals had to return with rich food and they were recognized. They participated equally in the feasts and were allowed to hunt based on their skills and appetite.
The day finally arrived when the Lions invaded the jungle. The Old Lion was no longer the Monarch. He was driven away. Most of his animals (especially the young Tigers and Elephants) left him to find a place for themselves in the new kingdoms. The Lion became too old and was finding it extremely difficult to find any food. Only a few old Foxes and Hyenas followed the old Lion. Failing to shape up, they got shipped out never to find a place in the Jungle again…
