Wisdom of Winnie the Pooh

Act with humbleness, choose your words carefully and never try to dominate the talk, dominate the idea.

February 24, 2021

A.A. Milne loved to watch his son Christopher Robin play with all his stuffed animals at their home in Sussex, England. Each toy animal had a name; Tigger, Kaga, Eeyore, and Piglet. The toy bear became Winnie after the Canadian Black Bear Christopher Robin saw at the London Zoo. As Milne watched his son play, he had an idea: Why not bring these characters to life? Why not let the world join in the fun?

So, Milne brought the characters to life with his pen. For Winnie, the main character, he wanted to have the audience fall in love with Pooh’s slow-wit, naïve nature and genuine friendliness. Winnie was never as dumb as he seemed-in fact, he was quite clever, which Milne hide with Pooh’s humble behavior. And that humbleness, love of friends, willingness to share, and genuine nature made Winnie a worldwide sensation that continues to grow today.

What Milne was able to create was remarkable. He saw the joy in his son’s face playing with those toys, which gave him an idea, then gave the main character all the virtues everyone loves. He didn’t even change the names. All he did was make sure Winnie was what everyone wants to become.

Do you think anyone would like Pooh if he were a know it all? Do you think anyone would endear themselves to Pooh if he were cocky? Or if he were mean to his friends or flew off the handle when asked a question? Would we love Pooh if he were selfish, never caring about others, behaving in a narcissistic manner?

What can we learn from Winnie? That being smart is best served with a huge dose of humbleness. Being the smartest, most talkative person in the room is never a good quality. Lorne Michaels of Saturday Night Live fame once said, If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” Milne offered similar advice when crafting Pooh characters. He never needed to say Pooh was smart; he showed us why Pooh was smart.

Think of Pooh the next time you’re in a meeting. Act with humbleness, choose your words carefully and never try to dominate the talk, dominate the idea.