who's got the monkeys?

okay, so last week i was in columbus at the wendy's management institute. well, dublin, actually, but you get the drift.
anyway, we got this wonderful article entitled "who's got the monkeys?" that was published by the harvard business review in 1974. it similates problems to monkeys, and theorizes that when someone pawns off their problems off to you to fix, you take their "monkey" from them. ...how many monkeys can you handle at one time.... i could go on and on, or you could google the article and read it yourself. anyway, i loved the following excerpt and felt it highly necessary to share...
"At no time while I am helping you will your problem become my problem. The instant your problem becomes mine, you will no longer have a problem. I cannot help someone who hasn't got a problem."
loved it! short simple and to the point. my favorite rule is rule #1: monkeys should be fed or shot (and then goes into semi-graphic detail about keeping monkeys alive that you're not taking care of and the results that can arise.)
it's just a really intelligent article written by a dirty old man with a mouth like a sailor. (we saw a video of a lecture he did about monkey management. lots of bleeps) i was very impressed, and for those of you who know me you know that's not a very easy feat.