If you’ve read anything I have written over the years, you’ve probably figured out that I love stories that put management principles into action, even when they don’t seem to have anything to do with business. My thought is that they are much more memorable than classroom exercises, and certainly a lot more entertaining. Here are a few of my recent favorites.

The greedy wolf: On a hot day, a wolf was feeling very hungry. He searched the forest, but he caught only a small hare. Disappointed, he thought, “This hare can’t fill my stomach.”

Just as the wolf was about to kill the hare, a deer ran by. The greedy wolf thought, “Instead of this small hare, let me eat that big deer.”

He released the hare and chased the deer. But the deer was too fast, and it vanished into the forest. The wolf now regretted letting the hare go.

Moral: Consider keeping what’s in your hand before chasing something better.

The same problems: People in a village had been complaining about the same problems to a wise man many times. One day he told them a joke, and everyone roared in laughter. After a couple of minutes, he told them the same joke and only a few of them smiled.

When he told the same joke for the third time, no one laughed anymore.

The wise man smiled and said: “You can’t laugh at the same joke over and over. So why are you always crying about the same problem?”

Moral: Don’t keep worrying about the same problems. Either solve them or move on.

The boulder in the road: A king had a boulder placed on a roadway, then hid and watched to see if anyone would move the boulder out of the way.

Some of the kingdom’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many of them loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear.

Then a peasant came along pushing a cart of vegetables. As he approached the boulder, the peasant set his cart aside and tried to push the stone out of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

Then he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king, explaining that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

Moral: Every obstacle we come across in life gives us an opportunity to improve our circumstances.

Checking in: How am I doing? On the bus, an older man happened to overhear a young woman talking on her cellphone. “Hello, could I speak to your sales director please? Yes, I’m calling about the sales position you advertised three months ago? Is that still open? No? Well, is there any chance of it opening up again soon? May I ask why not? Really, that good? Well, thank you.”

The man turned and said, “I don’t usually listen to other people’s phone conversations, but I happened to overhear yours. I’m sorry the job you’re trying to get isn’t available anymore.”

“Oh, that’s not it at all,” the young woman said with a smile. “That’s where I just started working three months ago. I was just calling to see how they think I’m doing. The sales director said his newest salesperson is doing a fantastic job, so I must be doing all right.”

Moral: Don’t take your success for granted.

Lessons from the duck: How big is a duck? Oh, about two feet long, maybe. Have you ever seen a duck move through water on a lake? You don't see its feet paddling under water, but let me tell you, the duck really moves.

For me, what was impressive was to look at the wake the duck left behind as it moved forward. WOW! It opened up an angle of at least 40 degrees and the water rippled as far as 40 to 50 feet, maybe even more. That's a lot. Think about it, that duck left a wake that's 600 times its actual size. That's a lot of effect from a duck that's only two feet long.

Moral: Every big wave started out as a little ripple.

Life and business teach us lessons every day. Be on the lookout -- sometimes the best ideas and solutions are right in front of us.

Mackay’s Moral: Always keep your eyes -- and your mind -- open.

During this season of Thanksgiving, I’m going to take a detour from business advice and focus instead on gratitude. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity to get to know a remarkable woman whose life lessons are an example for all.

I recently attended a service at Temple Israel in Minneapolis, at which a friend pointed out an elderly woman and said I should meet her. I was astounded to learn she was 109 years old.

I often seek out older people to ask them their secrets to living and how they’ve persevered. So I visited Ruth Knelman at her apartment and was amazed to learn she lives alone and does all her own cooking.

Ruth is chockfull of life lessons. She is affectionately called Grandma Ruth by all the children she reads to at Temple Israel. Every Friday for the last 30 years, she reads to seven classes of youngsters, ages 18 months to pre-kindergarten.

She is a strong believer in reading. She always read to her son and her grandsons because it makes you use your brain, builds self-esteem, improves creativity, increases your vocabulary and makes you smarter. She reads the Minneapolis Star Tribune from cover-to-cover, including the sports section.

Grandma Ruth has volunteered for 30-plus years at Jefferson Community School and many other organizations over her lifetime. Why volunteer so much? She said she always wanted to do good. “You have to do something good for your community.”

People who volunteer and help others have a healthier outlook on life. They are more inclined to be go-getters and consistently report being happier. Ruth is the poster child for happy.

Through volunteering she met many great friends, so she understands the importance of networking and friendship. She is so thankful and grateful for all her friends, and she tries to never take advantage of them.

“Friends have to be tolerant and patient,” she said. “Your best friend can hurt your feelings. You never forget this, but you forgive. If you took offense at things, you wouldn’t have any friends. No one is perfect.”

Ruth added: “Life can’t be all good. You have to have ups and downs. You always have more ups than downs.”

She thinks a big problem today for people is stress. She sees it every day when she watches people drive. She volunteered at a hospital for many years and remembers a man who had a nervous breakdown because he hated his job and his boss. If you aren’t happy, her advice is to find something else. Life is too short.

I asked Ruth what she would say to a college graduate: “You have to like people, be nice and be patient.” She also knows the importance of a good reputation and how one thoughtless act can destroy a lifetime of good work.

Ruth is often asked for advice, to which she responds: “Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know. You can’t know everything.”

Ruth has a fantastic memory. She always has people repeat their names when she meets them because when she hears a name twice, she remembers it better.

She keeps her mind sharp by playing bridge every week. She’s been playing that card game for 94 years, starting at age 15. Ruth also plays gin rummy, and I learned there is a little money involved too.

I couldn’t resist asking about her secret to living this long. She said, “I’ve done everything wrong.” She stays up late at night and gets up early. She eats late in the day. When she wakes up in the middle of the night, she drinks coffee and watches TV. She doesn’t drink water and prefers club soda. She takes only one pill.

She also is not a big fan of exercise. She said the people who exercise regularly have to have their hips and knees replaced. Her exercise is walking.

How does Ruth want to be remembered? She is so thankful for all the people who were so kind to her: “You have to like people. You can’t get bored. I always have something to do.”

While I was visiting with Ruth, the phone rang at least five times. It was like Grand Central Station. Then as I was leaving, we were greeted by another friend who was coming to visit her.

As I got ready to leave, Ruth had one request: “Can I give you a hug? You never know when it might be your last hug.”

Mackay’s Moral: Don’t count the years; make the years count.

One day a teacher asked her class, “Can anyone give me a sentence with an object in it?”

A little girl said, “Teacher, you’re the most wonderful and beautiful lady I’ve ever seen.” The teacher responded, “Thanks, but what is the object”?

The little girl added, “I’d like to have a longer recess today.”

OK, the little girl was buttering up her teacher, and I don’t blame her. But I’d like to butter up all the teachers out there for a different reason -- they make a difference in every life they touch. November 18 to 22 is American Education Week. And if you’d like to plan ahead, Teacher Appreciation Week is May 3 to 9, 2020.

I have a personal admiration for teachers; my mother taught fourth grade. She made sure my sister and I were the best students we could be, and instilled in us a love of lifelong learning. She always reminded us that school ends, but education doesn’t.

Teachers are the unsung heroes behind almost every successful person. From preschool onward, they challenge, encourage, rein their students in when necessary and then set them free to discover and achieve. I suspect you could ask any CEO, business owner or person who has followed their dream if they can remember a favorite teacher, and they will have an immediate answer.

As I was researching this column, I found some remarkable data from the National Center for Education Statistics. As of fall 2019, there are 3.7 million teachers in public and private schools, managing 56.6 million students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. (Those numbers don’t include the students who are home-schooled or online learners.) That’s an enormous responsibility to face day in and day out.

Education is easy to take for granted. With schools in nearly every town or neighborhood, buses to provide transportation to the front door, books and resources available for all and qualified teachers to lead the way, who wouldn’t jump at the chance to get an education?

Yet we don’t always appreciate what we have in America and most developed countries. Our opportunities begin soon after we learn to walk and talk. All we have to do is show up and pay attention (and do some homework).

Teachers are the people who turn four walls into a learning environment and help develop the natural curiosity and creativity that all kids seem to be blessed with. As students progress through the grades, teachers help them to expand their horizons and find their passions. And when it’s time to move on to post-secondary programs, teachers are there to prepare young minds to take on the challenges of life after school.

Grayson Kirk, former president of Columbia University, put it well: “The most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure.”

I’m pretty sure I made all my teachers earn their salary every day. When I think about who had the biggest influence on my life aside from my parents, I can remember a few. But one stands out: Professor Harold Deutsch, my academic adviser at the University of Minnesota. I scored a “D” in his History of World War II class, and when I went to plead my case for a better grade, I was quickly informed that my affinity for the golf team had to take a backseat to my studies. He didn’t mince words. And I am forever grateful.

A story collected in “Wisdom Well Said” by Charles Francis illustrates the impact teachers have on a person’s life and future.

The noted American novelist James Michener received an invitation to a dinner at the White House in the 1950s from President Dwight Eisenhower. And, even though he felt it would be an honor to meet the president, he politely declined.

Michener wrote: “Dear Mr. President, I received your invitation three days after I had agreed to speak a few words at a dinner honoring the wonderful high school teacher who taught me how to write. I know you will not miss me at your dinner, but she might at hers."

Michener promptly received this reply from an understanding President Eisenhower: “In his lifetime, a man lives under 15-16 presidents, but a really fine teacher comes into his life but rarely.”

Mackay’s Moral: A person without an education is like a building without a foundation.