Of all the creatures that came to the watering hole, Frog was the only one that did not have a tail. The other animals taunted him over it, making him feel inferior and ugly. So Frog visited the Sun God and asked him for a tail. The Sun God granted Frog his wish, on the condition that Frog watch over the Sun God’s special lagoon. Frog agreed.

Soon, a terrible drought seized the area, and the Sun God’s lagoon was the only watering hole available for many miles. Creatures from all over the land came to Frog’s new home in need of water. But Frog was very full of himself with his new long tail and his powerful position as keeper of the only watering hole. And because he had never forgotten how the other creatures teased him, he turned away every animal from the lagoon without giving them so much as a sip.

After a while, word of Frog’s antics reached the Sun God, who decided to verify this behavior firsthand. He found Frog swishing through the water, gleefully flaunting his tail. As the Sun God approached the water’s edge, he heard Frog shout, “Whoever you are, move along! This water is not for you! This special lagoon is mine to do with as I please because I am the most beautiful of all creatures.”

Angered, the Sun God exiled Frog and cursed him for the rest of his days. Now, every spring Frog is born a tadpole with a long tail. As he grows, the tail shrinks until it disappears -- to remind Frog that the only reward for spiteful and arrogant behavior is the loss of things one truly cherishes in life.

This folktale is all about staying humble, which can be hard to do in a culture that encourages competition and individuality. Ideally, we are expected to succeed and yet stay humble. That is easier said than done for some people.

Thomas J. Watson Jr., former chairman of IBM Corporation and ambassador to Russia, said his father frequently used to say, “Everyone should take a step backwards every once in a while and watch himself walk by.”

Staying humble is an important virtue. Even if you think you excel at something, there is probably someone who is better. Remember that there are many things that you cannot do. Recognize and accept your limitations. And while we all have talents, everyone also has defects.

I remember when I was first starting out in business, after college. I’ve always said, I thought I would start at the top and work my way up. I had chapped lips from kissing the mirror too much. But did I learn quickly about being humble!

When people ask me now to describe myself in one word, that word is grateful. I know that many people helped me along the way, from supportive parents to mentors and friends. Many people helped shape who I have become. I wish I could take all the credit, but experience has taught me that my life would be markedly different without all that valuable support. Seeing what all those folks have contributed reminds me that I could never have managed alone.

Whenever I speak to corporate audiences I say, “Anyone who thinks he or she is indispensable should stick their finger in a bowl of water and notice the hole it leaves when they pull it out.” No one is irreplaceable, no matter what they think.

Truly humble people also understand they need to avoid bragging, no matter what their talents or status. I’m all in favor of a healthy self-esteem, but you don’t need to continuously bring attention to your achievements.

That’s what humorist Will Rogers meant when he said, “Get someone else to blow your horn and the sound will carry twice as far.” I couldn’t agree more.

One of my favorite baseball players was Boston Red Sox Hall-of-Famer Carl Yastrzemski. As he approached hit number 3,000, reporters hounded him with questions. One reporter asked, “Aren’t you afraid of all this attention going to your head?”

Yastrzemski said, “I look at it this way. I’ve been at bat over 10,000 times. That means I’ve failed 7,000 times at the plate. That fact alone will prevent me from getting a swollen head.”

Mackay’s Moral: Humble pie is nourishment for a big ego.

Harvard Business School surveyed 600 CEOs recently and asked them what keeps them awake at night during this global pandemic. The results found that almost every aspect of doing business must be completely rethought for both short-term survival and long-term success.

The issues cited fall into three main categories:

1. Continuous learning and integrating new information.

2. Making complex decisions and plans quickly and solving problems.

3. Empathy, maintaining wellness and focus.

I'm a big believer in lifelong learning. You don't go to school once for a lifetime; you are in school all of your life. Companies need to create a corporate culture that strives for continuous improvement.

In his 1995 book "Managing in a Time of Great Change," Peter Drucker, the late, great management guru, wrote: "It is a safe prediction that in the next 50 years, schools and universities will change more and more drastically than they have since they assumed their present form more than 300 years ago when they reorganized themselves around the printed book.

"What will force these changes is, in part, new technology; ... in part, the demands of a knowledge-based society in which organized learning must become a lifelong process."

Students and teachers at all levels have had to adjust to remote learning, and that will most definitely not be just a passing fad. With a majority of people now working remotely, new systems have been developed in short order. I don't expect that to change as companies and employees recognize the benefits of working from home.

Many decisions were made within hours of lockdown announcements. Anyone who has management responsibilities understands that decision-making can be precarious. After you've done all your homework, when making decisions, I've found that you have to trust your gut. If I'm not sure, I check with people I trust to give me the knowledge on all sides.

As for planning, I like to say people don't plan to fail; they fail to plan. Things no longer rest on a predictable base.

Companies spend days, if not weeks, agonizing over their mission statements and business plans. Get the business model right. Then accessorize it with the details. You may not need more than a few action plans focused on very restricted areas.

It's not the sheer magnitude of the preparation that matters. It's the relevance of what you do. Is it clear? Will it change behavior?

A basic principle in the sales and marketing world is that people don't usually buy products and services. They buy solutions to problems. Successful salespeople and marketers tailor their products and services to meet a demand that is not necessarily immediately evident, but nonetheless very real. They identify problems in terms of solutions and anticipate problems long before they become apparent. They must be empathetic to their customers' needs.

Empathy is an emotion that is a sense of shared suffering, most often combined with a desire to alleviate the suffering of another and to show special kindness to them. Compassionate acts attempt to alleviate that suffering as if it were one's own.

Where, you might ask, does compassion fit in business? Will it hurt the bottom line? Will it make our company look soft or like a pushover?

The answers are: at all levels, no, and definitely not. Compassion and profitability are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, companies that are perceived as people-oriented and good corporate citizens have a far better chance of succeeding than those that put profits ahead of people. In times like these, empathy will win the day.

As for wellness, personal health is important for corporate health. Exercise is good for your mind as well as your body. Corporate America has long endorsed fitness and physical health, but it's done a mediocre job getting employees to buy into the whole program.

Maintaining focus may be challenging right now, but if you can focus fully on the task at hand, and shut out everything else, you can accomplish amazing things.

Focus is a topic I hear about frequently in business. The most common complaints? Too many projects spinning at one time. Too many interruptions. Too many phone calls and emails. Too many things to do. Too little time. Too many schedules to balance. Too much uncertainty about the future.

Stay focused as best you can, and don't let things happen to you -- not when you can make things happen.

Mackay's Moral: It's not about what you can't control; it's about what you can control.

T. Boone Pickens, the late famed oil prospector and corporate raider, said in commencement remarks at George Washington University: "Be willing to make decisions. That's the most important quality in a good leader. Don't fall victim to what I call the 'ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome.' You must be willing to fire."

It's common knowledge that most people simply do not like to make tough decisions. That's why the frustrated executive replaced the "In" and "Out" trays on his desk with one labeled "Stalled."

We are at a critical point for many businesses right now; decisions made today affect the future survival of every operation. The pandemic has stalled all kinds of decisions that would have been five-minute conversations just weeks ago. And so many decisions were made for us by government orders. Can't overrule those.

So how best to approach the pressing issues within our control that need immediate action?

Sigmund Freud and his niece once discussed how difficult it was for some people to make a decision. He said, "I'll tell you what I tell them. I ask them to toss a coin."

His niece said, "I can't believe it. You, a man of science, guided by senseless chance!"

Freud answered: "I did not say you should follow blindly what the coin tells you. What I want you to do is to note what the coin indicates. Then look into your own reactions. Ask yourself: Am I pleased? Am I disappointed? That will help you to recognize how you really feel about the matter, deep down inside. With that as a basis, you'll then be ready to make up your mind and come to the right decision."

We grow by making decisions and assuming responsibility for them. You're not going to be right all the time. In fact, President Harry Truman said, "Whenever I make a bum decision, I just go out and make another."

One of his predecessors, Theodore Roosevelt, had a little different take: "In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing."

Sitting on a decision too long just creates a new problem. Not making a decision is doing nothing.

Counselor and researcher Trudi Griffin says there are simple ways to make the decision process less intimidating, such as "identifying the worst-case scenario, making a spreadsheet, and following your gut instinct." In addition, she recommends considering whether the decision will be permanent. "Most decisions are reversible, so you can take comfort in knowing that if you hate your decision, you can always make a change to fix the situation later on."

She also counsels to "learn to distinguish between an impulse and intelligent decision." Once you've weighed your options, you can usually figure out if your first reaction was reasonable or a quick fix. Take a breath and give yourself time to think.

Ask any CEO or manager if they are proud of all the decisions they have made, and I will guarantee the answer will be no. But ask them if they learned from their mistakes, and I will also guarantee the answer will be yes, at least from the smartest ones.

Good decision-making is learned. It stems from good judgment, which is also learned, frequently the hard way. But with practice, good decision-making becomes much easier.

Strong leaders have no problem in making decisions. They are confident that their decisions are the best. Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, said, "My idea of a group decision is to look in the mirror."

Buffet takes responsibility for his decisions, and his stockholders trust his judgment. Therein lies another facet of decision-making: owning your decision. Celebrate when you've made the right choice and find a fix when you haven't.

The folly of human nature is neatly summed up by the case of the schoolteacher who invested her life savings in a business enterprise that had been elaborately explained to her by a swindler.

When her investment disappeared and the wonderful dream was shattered, she went to the office of the Better Business Bureau. "Why on earth didn't you come to us first?" they asked. Didn't you know about the Better Business Bureau?"

"Oh, yes," said the teacher sadly. "I've always known about you. But I didn't come because I was afraid you'd tell me not to do it."

Mackay's Moral: Life is all about decisions. Choose wisely.