You catch 'em, you clean 'em
You catch 'em, you clean 'em
Over the years I have worked with key executives to develop sales strategies and marketing plans, and one of the things I point out is to ensure that any decision we make, will not result in unintended consequences. Sometimes potential solutions, which seem so compelling, can turn around and cause far more problems than the predicament you were trying to resolve.
This is where my story begins.
Many years ago the Smith brothers decided that we were going fishing, so we grabbed our fishing rods, bait and strainers and headed out to the lake. The lake was some distance away, so we hopped on our Hiawatha bicycles, drove along the black top streets, and finally found a place that we believed we'd catch a lot of fish.
It was one of the best day for fishing we ever had, and by the time we quit, we had caught over 50 fish. We were so thrilled with our bounty, and quickly raced home to show our prize to dad and mom. Because it was before 5:30, we had to wait until dad returned from work...but the moment he walked through the door, we took him out to the backyard and proudly showed him the 50 fish we caught. He looked at our collection of perch and blue gills, thought for a moment, and then said something we hadn't expected him to say.
"You catch 'em, you clean 'em." He said.
We couldn't believe what we were told. We had never cleaned fish before - we just assumed that dad would clean the fish for us. Dad could see our shock, but said, "I will show you how to do one or two fish...after that you will do the rest."
At that we went outside and brought our fish into the kitchen, and after dad demonstrated the art of de-boning a fish, we began to mimic what we just learned. Soon there were three boys cutting off the heads and tails of perch and blue gills, and filleting the meat from the bones. After what seemed like an agonizingly long time, we finally finished the last fish...and after this experience were determined never to catch that many fish again.
It is the unintended consequences that get you every time.
Story by Terry Smith