Beans Up the Nose Theory

Linzi Conway writes:

The little boy's mother was off to market. She worried about her boy, who was always up to some mischief. She sternly admonished him, "Be good. Don't get into trouble. Don't eat all the cabbage. Don't spill all the milk. Don't throw stones at the cow. Don't fall down the well." The boy had done all of these things on other market days. Hoping to head off new trouble, she added, "And don't stuff beans up your nose!" This was a new idea for the boy, who promptly tried it out.

No doubt, the readers among you who have young children, can identify with the mother in the story. However, as managers and employees, how many of us can identify with the boy?

The boy could be