There was a young boy taking a morning walk at the beach. He saw that along with the morning tide came hundreds of starfish and when the tide receded, they were left behind and with the morning sun rays, they would die. The tide was fresh and the starfish were alive. The boy took a few steps, picked one and threw it into the water. He did that repeatedly.

Right behind him there was an older man who couldn’t understand what the boy was doing. He caught up with him and asked, “What are you doing? There are hundreds of starfish you can’t possibly help all of them. What difference can it make?”

The boy did not reply, took two more steps, picked up another one, threw it into the water, and said, “It makes a difference to this one.”

Here is an awesome “Creative Session Closer” for a leadership session.

Here is how I make this story come alive in leadership sessions. I buy little starfish from the craft store (about 30 cents each at Hobby Lobby) and paste them on a 2” x 4” colored sheet of paper (thick paper). I hand write “Make a Difference” on the paper. (Creating the cards is a great family activity. My kids love to help Daddy make his training stuff. I also tell them the story all over again when they help.) If you can’t find the starfish a simple drawing is sufficient.

At the last break I place one of the cards at each participant area. If possible, I try to strategically place them in an area that is not obvious. After the last segment of the session and after any summary or debrief I tell the story. I also have a huge starfish that I pull out of a bag and as I tell the story I use the larger starfish to make the story more visual by picking it up and pretending to throw it. I play the part of the boy who is listening to the wisdom of the older man.

The boy’s face considers the older man’s philosophy but he remains determined and focused on the task of saving starfish. As I recite the boys last words, “It makes a difference to this one” I pick up one of the cards on the table and hold it up and say, “What are we doing here? There are so many coworkers with so many difficult situations we can’t possibly help all of them. What difference can it make?” [Silence]

I stare at the card for a while and then close with, “Let’s go make a difference!”

(Source: Unknown author)