Praise and Punishment

Once upon a time, an emperor divided his work with his prime minister. The prime minister was to do all the scolding and punishment and the emperor all the praising and rewarding. This way, the emperor thought, his stock with the people would go up and his tasks would remain light and enjoyable.

But the emperor soon noticed that whenever he asked someone to do something, they would be uncommitted to the job. But when the prime minister spoke, people moved. So the emperor called the prime minister and said, “Let us reverse roles. You have been doing the punishing job for quite a while. Now, let me do the punishing and you do the rewarding.”