The Africa story...
By ahgong
@ahgong (10064)
Singapore
May 25, 2009 1:15am CST
I was attending a seminar over the weekend when I heard of this story in one of them.
A very interesting take on the half empty half full view when looking at a glass.
The story goes like this...
[i]A company selling shoes was looking to expand its business. So the boss sent a sale representative to Africa to try and peddle their products over there.
Upon reaching the shores of Africa, the sales man made his way to the rural area where he was told to sell his wares.
Reaching the place, he barely got out of the car when he called back to his boss.
"Boss, no way to do business here lah. No body wear shoes! Who is gonna buy?"
Then he made his way back home.
The boss heard the sales rep and was puzzled. So he sent another sales rep over there to the same place to survey the place to see if what the first rep said is true.
Upon reaching the village, the second sales rep was so happy! He was jumping for joy!
He immediately made an order for 100 containers of shoes to be shipped over!
"Boss, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha... , this is a dream come true!"
"Why?" asked the puzzled boss.
"No body wear shoes! Sales is gonna hit the roof!"
[/i]
Same problem, different perspective, different solution to tackle it.
One choose to see it as a defeat, thinking that since no one wears shoes, he is not able to sell.
The other sees opportunity, thinking since no one wears shoes, he has potential customers to his wares!
How a simple difference in the way we view a problem, can lead to a solution or an opportunity lost!
If you were the sales person sent to that village, who would you be like?
The first sales person?
Or the second sales person?
2 people like this
3 responses
@lupin0302 (137)
• Philippines
25 May 09
i thinks i will be the second salesman because i am the kind of person who never let opportunity to slip away. i am a very positive person. and i can always tell opportunity when i saw one. In our life great opportunity comes only once in a while so you must be always ready to recognize it because it might be the last time it will passed you so you better be on the look out
@kun2349 (23381)
• Singapore
26 May 09
lol =D MAybe one can be looking at it in another perspective, like being an optimistic and a pessimistic.. haha =D
For the 1st salesperson, he belongs to the pessimistic, and only believe in what he sees.. Thus, the 1st reaction he got, will be, ' die, how to sell when there's no market'..
As for 2nd salesperson, he look at things at a bigger picture and he creates his own market out of nothing ^_^ Thus in a way, one should say they are more to business minded ^_^ lol
