The Fisherman and Businessman
The Pastor at my church told this great little story during a sermon a few weeks ago and she sent me a copy that I wanted to share with others. I'm not sure who the original author is, so I hope it's ok to publish it here on my blog. It goes like this...
A businessman visiting the pier of a small coastal village in Mexico noticed a small boat with just one fisherman pulling up to the dock. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The businessman complimented the fisherman on his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. "Only a little while," the fisherman responded.
"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"
"I have enough to support my family's needs."
The businessman then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
The fisherman replied, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full and busy life."
The businessman scoffed, "I'm a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats and eventually have a whole fleet of boats. You would cut out the middleman and 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 village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually to New York City, where you would run your expanding empire."
The fisherman asked, "But how long will all this take?"
The MBA replied, "Fifteen to twenty years."
"But then what," the fisherman asked.
The American laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is right, you would announce an initial public offering and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich; you would make millions."
"Millions?" the fisherman asked. "Then what?"
The American said, "Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your friends."
A businessman visiting the pier of a small coastal village in Mexico noticed a small boat with just one fisherman pulling up to the dock. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The businessman complimented the fisherman on his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. "Only a little while," the fisherman responded.
"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?"
"I have enough to support my family's needs."
The businessman then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"
The fisherman replied, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, and stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my friends. I have a full and busy life."
The businessman scoffed, "I'm a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing, and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat, you could buy several boats and eventually have a whole fleet of boats. You would cut out the middleman and 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 village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually to New York City, where you would run your expanding empire."
The fisherman asked, "But how long will all this take?"
The MBA replied, "Fifteen to twenty years."
"But then what," the fisherman asked.
The American laughed and said, "That's the best part! When the time is right, you would announce an initial public offering and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich; you would make millions."
"Millions?" the fisherman asked. "Then what?"
The American said, "Then you would retire and move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, and stroll into the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play guitar with your friends."
posted by webdh | 10:03 PM
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