Three Envelopes

The manager handed his successor three envelopes along with the advice: "each time you get into a bind you cannot break, open one envelope."

Some time later, the successor was indeed in a bind. The project was riddled with problems and failing badly. Opening the first envelope revealed the message: "Blame me." The successor blamed the predecessor and the great council agreed.

Again, some time later, the successor was in another bind. The project was in disarray and had grown stagnant. The message of the second envelope was: "Reorganize." The successor reorganized the team, and the powers of the great council were pleased.

The third bind was troublesome. After blaming the predecessor and reorganizing the team, all of the problems seemed to come from the successor's own decisions. The third envelope contained the message: "Get three envelopes..."

My Friend Edward actually got to do this when leaving his last job. I am quite jealous.

I first heard this joke in the late 1980s, but the protagonist was the Soviet Premier. [Insert InSovietRussia joke here.]