Jonah was an angry man who thought he knew best and was prone to overreaction. He worked as a developer at a small but influential software company. Many different people used the software the company made in many different ways. Some used the software without issue, but many tried to use it without understanding all it was capable of and how to get the full benefit of using it. When Jonah’s boss heard how some people were using the software and the troubles they were encountering, he thought that education and training were the solution. He told Jonah to go to the users and tell them how to get the best from the software. Jonah wasn’t keen on this plan. He didn’t want to go and do training or give talks about the software. He believed that if people were too stupid to work out how to use the software, they shouldn’t be allowed to use it.

“If they can’t RTFM, I’m not going to read it to them!”

Instead of doing as he had was told, Jonah chose to work from home and focus on building new features he thought the software should have. He thought he knew best, and so did what he wanted.

The company Jonah worked for provided his apartment and paid for his utilities. When his boss heard that Jonah had not done as he had asked and was working (hiding) in his home, Jonah’s boss arranged for his power and utilities (including his phone) to be shut off.

For three days, Jonah sat sulking, all alone, in the dark, with his thoughts.

By the end of the third day, Jonah had had enough. Tired, hungry, and smelly, Jonah went to see his boss.

Although unable to look his boss in the eye, Jonah apologized and said that if the company still wanted him, he would go and so the training.

The following Monday, Jonah set off to give his first training talk. As expected, when people heard what the software could do and how it could help in their lives if they used it as intended, they changed their ways. Bypassing the feeling teachers usually get when they see their students successfully learn new things, Jonah became angry. Angry that he had been right all along. The people had been too stupid or ignorant to see what he already knew.

Jonah left the training venue and went back to his hotel room. It was a hot night, and he regretted agreeing to accept a cheaper room without air conditioning. Opening the window, he climbed into bed and sulked.

Around 11 pm, a knock on the door woke Jonah from the sleep that he had only managed to find a few minutes previous. Fuming, Jonah rushed to the door and flung it open, ready to unleash a torrent of abuse at whoever had woken him. “WHO THE ..” Jonah stopped himself. There was no one there, only an electric fan standing in the hall outside his door. Jonah looked down the hall. First to his left and then his right but saw and heard nothing. Returning to his room, he picked up the fan and plugged it in beside his bed. The cool breeze on his face instantly calmed him, and once back in his bed, Jonah quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Shortly before 6 am, the sun started shining in through the open window. The air in the room quickly began to heat up, and it wasn’t long before Jonah awoke covered in sweat. Looking around the room and not seeing thee fan that had brought relief a few hours earlier, his anger instantly returned, and a stream of frustrated obscenities left his mouth.

As he finished cursing his life and everything around him, there was another knock on the door. Pulling on a robe, Jonah yanked the door open, and it slammed into the adjacent wall. Again Jonah was stopped from unleashing his vitriol on the person standing there when he realized it was his boss.

“Jonah, why so angry? “Why complain about things over which you have no control? “Why not celebrate the fact that thousands of people are now benefiting from the ability to use the software in a way that allows them to get the full value and benefit? “Join me in celebrating the good turn of events and your valuable contribution that helped bring them about.”

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