This week a Peter K. Newman of Dayton, Ohio wrote a letter to the editors of the Wall Street Journal in which he tells the following joke:

A departing CEO met with his successor, presented him with three numbered envelopes and advised him to open these if he ran into trouble.

After sales and profits dropped during the next quarter, the new CEO opened the first envelope. It contained the message: “Blame your predecessor.”

The company continued to struggle during the next two quarters, so the new CEO opened the second envelope. It contained the message: “Distract

your critics by reorganizing.”

Finally, because the company’s year-end results were still disappointing, the new CEO rushed to his office and opened the third envelope. It contained the message: “Prepare three envelopes.”

This joke is about the danger of repeating unfortunate patterns that we inherit; and the flip side of the joke is that it invites us to think about how we might transcendthe unfortunate patterns that we inherit. Because the new CEO could not transcend the troubled trends of the old CEO he shared the same fate as the old CEO. When we realize that we have inherited a pattern that is not healthy, how do we transcend it?