087 Ready Before You Go
Hey Banana Plant, you fruit once and then the stem dies, but your replacement is already standing beside you.
What have we set going that can stand without us?
Have you set up something that can stand without you?
In a backyard, a banana plant bends under a heavy bunch.
Beside it, already standing tall, is a younger banana plant.
What really happens
A banana stem fruits only once, and after harvest it dies back.
But from the same underground base, new shoots called suckers have already grown up beside it, ready to fruit next.
How we know: Banana suckers and growth are described by agricultural extension services worldwide.
The turn
Many of us build everything around ourselves.
The banana raises its successor before it is gone.
Three takeaways
- Grow your replacement before you need one.
- Your legacy is what stands without you.
- Passing on is part of the job.
Before you fruit, raise the next one.
The final test of a leader is that he leaves behind him in other men the conviction and the will to carry on.