look at a problem from a different angle

Long ago there lived a poor, childless fisherman in a ramshackle hut with his wife and aged, blind mother.

After fishing all day in his rickety boat he had nothing to show for his labours but an old glass bottle caught in the ragged net.  Thinking that he might, at least, be able to sell the bottle in exchange for bread, he unstopped it to rinse it out.  With a flash of light a genie emerged who granted him one wish as thanks for freeing him after 10,000 years trapped on the sea bed.  The poor fisherman hurried home to consult with his wife and mother. 

His aged mother claimed that in his duty to his elders he must ask the genie to restore her sight.  His wife begged him to ask for the one thing the couple desperately craved, a son.  Between them they argued incessantly and made the fisherman utterly miserable.

In a quandary, he visited the village wise man and stated the impossibility of pleasing both women with just one wish. 

“What will you give me if I find a way to grant both their requests?” Asked the wily elder.  The fisherman thought hard and then offered him a fish a day from his catch for the rest of his life.  The wise man accepted the terms and asked him to return in the morning, giving him one night to ponder the problem. In the morning, the fisherman, troubled by a night spent listening to the women argue, returned to the elder. 

The wise man gave him his answer, and the fisherman hurried back to the lake shore to find the genie.

“Fisherman, what wish would you have me grant? Asked the genie.

The fisherman replied; “Genie, I would like you to grant my aged mother one wish before she dies; that she could see her grandson”.

Often at work we can be too close to a problem to find an effective solution.  At North Bailey we bring fresh perspective and critical thinking along with a wealth of experience.  We are provocative, challenge convention, ask the difficult questions and allow clients to see their business from a different perspective. We solve business problems.

Come and knock on our hut door at 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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