too clever by half…

Long ago there lived a scholar who had the highest regard for learning.  His home was packed with books on all subjects.  One day he noticed that his shoes were worn and needed replacing. 

The scholar immediately began consulting his books to find out what to do to replace worn shoes, where to go and how to go about it.  The sources informed him that he needed to go to a shoe shop with the correct measurement and purchase a new pair.  The man set about measuring his feet with a piece of straw and set off for the shoemakers. 

Unfortunately for the scholar, when he arrived at the shoe shop and found a pair of shoes that he liked he realised that, in his haste, he had forgotten the straw.  He sadly returned home to collect it and repeated his journey.  To compound his misery, by the time he returned to the shop, it was closed and his old shoes had fallen apart.

The next day he limped, barefoot, back to the shoemakers and was dismayed to find that the pair of shoes he had chosen had already been sold.

He explained the reason for his disappointment to the shoemaker who asked him why he hadn’t bought the pair the day before.

“Because I didn’t have my measuring straw with me.” explained the scholar.

“But you had your feet.” Replied the shoemaker.  “Why didn’t you just try them on?”

Often in business our tried and tested methodologies are so sophisticated that we are in danger of over complicating issues.  We are so buried in information and data that we overlook the simplest solutions.

At North Bailey we are experienced in providing the clarity you need to find effective solutions. We bring fresh perspective and critical thinking along with a wealth of knowledge.  We are provocative, challenge convention, ask the difficult questions and allow you to see your business from a different perspective.

And we like new shoes.

www.NorthBailey.com

Published by Andrew Mann

Managing Partner at NorthBailey. Having had senior marketing & insight roles at Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda, Coop and M&S, I'm now using my experience & network to solve strategic marketing problems for NorthBailey clients

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