Parable of the CEO

Once upon a time there was a wealthy CEO in Silicon Valley. His company developed clothing products with the most advanced nanotechnology that applied the right amount of pressure, relieved stress, and activated the release of hormones in such a way that many diseases and conditions would be healed.* These products became more affordable as the business grew such that millions could gain access to the clothing and enjoy life as they never could have imagined it before. The CEO himself was a very compassionate man who desired to help as many people as possible. He would also be very firm when it came to confronting narcissistic behavior within his company, for he did not tolerate it when people manipulated or abused others for selfish gain.

This CEO offered amazing benefits to all his employees. Given the technological and medical advancements that the CEO had brought to the world, his employees could also enjoy 100% provision for healthcare benefits; the company paid their medical expenses in full. The safety, inclusion, camaraderie, friendship, and acceptance with the company culture of this enterprise was likewise second to none.

Despite the cliche used throughout society as a whole, the employees within this business really did feel like a “family” as well as a team. There were high standards of honor and conduct within the company, yet there was also much grace when it came to addressing toxic behaviors or attitudes with which the employees struggled. If an employee accidentally messed up or made a mistake, that employee didn’t have to be afraid of punishment or retributive action as long as they had a teachable attitude and a desire to do the right thing.

The CEO came from a wealthy family in Silicon Valley where his dad had adopted many of the CEO’s brothers and sisters from all over the world. The CEO’s father was very involved, present, and available to all of his children. Many of his adopted children had experienced great trauma with complex behavioral problems before they had been adopted. When these children went to school, many of their classmates would have unpleasant experiences with those children as they acted out in toxic or abusive ways.

After hearing of their behavior from the school principal and teachers, their dad would teach, correct, spend time with his naughty kids. He would also set up various boundaries at home for what they could and could not do, teaching them what it looks like to treat others the way that they would want to be treated. Their dad would discipline them as appropriate in such ways that their bad behaviors at school would decrease over time.

Nevertheless, other kids from the school still had negative experiences and bad memories from how that father’s children had hurt them. Their experiences of abuse and rejection from the dad’s adopted children lingered in their memories and the father’s biological son grew up and became the CEO of his company. The father’s only biological son grew in wisdom, respect, and good relationships with all the people around him. He would stand up to bullies, confront narcissists and malicious gossipers, and care for the bullied, rejected, and overlooked kids in the school whom others had shunned.

One day, the CEO contacted the head of a hospital in order to discuss the incorporation of his clothing products into the treatment and healthcare system of the hospital. However, the head of the hospital did not trust the CEO. This head of the hospital had been harassed, bullied, and hurt by the CEO’s [adopted] younger brother when they grew up in school together. When the CEO offered the hospital superintendent to try out his clothing products for free and to test them out among the patients in the hospital, the superintendent was very skeptical and stubbornly resistant to the idea.

Other hospitals and customers from the general public enjoyed the freedom of health and healing from previously incurable diseases, yet the superintendent of this hospital did not consider the CEO’s products to be right for the way that his hospital did things. As a result, many patients at that hospital would not have direct access to the company’s revolutionary technology and medical advancements. If they recovered enough to leave the hospital, those patients would have to discover the existence of these clothing products independently, as they would not be readily offered or introduced to them by the hospital staff.

Questions for Discussion:

• Why might somebody reject something that could save their life, bring them health, effectively remove their pain in a healthy manner, and solve their problems?

• Why did the hospital superintendent reject the CEO’s generous offer?

• How might hurt, bitterness, and resentment lead to lack of trust?

• Was the hospital superintendent's past hurt from the CEO’s younger brother a legitimate reason for him to reject partnership with the CEO?

• How might the hospital superintendent’s rejection of the CEO and refusal to work together with his company affect the potential health and well-being of that hospital’s patients?

*Although the morning this fictional parable came to mind, I may have seen glimpses of an actual advertisement about related technology, I have no current knowledge about any specific technology, company, nor related products on the market today and make no claims, promises, or opinions regarding the existence or effectiveness of such matters. The meaning of the parable has more to due with spiritual and relational issues and their physiological manifestations.