STORY NO.1
The American Consultant and the Mexican Fisherman
Have you heard the story of the American consultant and the Mexican fisherman?
A prominent American consultant, with an MBA from Harvard, was standing on the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small fishing boat docked. Inside the boat were several large yellow fin tuna a lone fisherman had caught. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, "Only a little while."
The American asked, "Why don’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?"
"It's enough to support my family. I’m happy."
The American asked, "What do you do with the rest of your time?"
"I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children and take siesta with my wife, Maria. Every evening I stroll into the village, sip wine and play guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor."
The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. You could catch more fish and buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise."
The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, senor, how long will this all take?"
"15 to 20 years."
"But what then, senor?"
The American laughed and said, "That's the best part. When the time is right you would launch an IPO and sell your company's stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions."
"Millions, senor? Then what?"
The American said, "Then you could retire and move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, and every evening stroll to the village where you could sip wine and play guitar with your amigos."
The Mexican fisherman looked at the face of the Harvard MBA American and smiled….
STORY NO.2
"I was the other day at the playground with my 3 year old daughter.
There were big sprinklers that sprayed out water. Kids liked to go up to them, put their hand over the jet of water and fill buckets. To do so and not get totally soaked, you have to move quickly, put your hand firmly over the jet at a certain angle and shoot the water into your bucket.
One little boy wanted to fill his bucket, but couldn't get himself to get through the spray, approaching, pausing, backing up and trying again, but never moving in enough. He got wetter than others who had filled their buckets, without getting anything in his.
I realize what I took away from this was pretty cheesy, but I felt like his behavior was a metaphor for our willingness to push into an uncomfortable situation. If you hesitate you'll get nothing, but will get wet. If you push through you may still get nothing and may get wet, but at least you had the chance to get something in your bucket."
As you prepare to train or teach, ask yourself, which of the stories that happened to me can I bring to the session to make a point? People relate more to real life stories that happened to people like them than to concepts or ideas, no matter how great. If you want to touch the hearts of your students, tell a story.
