Bored during a long flight, an eminent scholar leaned over and
woke up the sleeping salesman next to him to ask if he would like to
play a game. “I’ll ask you a question,” the scholar explained, “and if
you don’t know the answer, you pay me $5. Then you ask me a question,
and if I don’t know the answer, I’ll pay you $50.”
When the salesman agreed to play, the scholar asked, “What’s the distance from the earth to the moon?” Flummoxed, the salesman handed him $5. “Ha!” said the scholar. “It’s 238,857 miles. Now it’s your turn.”
The salesman was silent for a few moments. Then he asked, “What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?”
Puzzled, the scholar racked his brains for an hour–but to no avail. Finally he took out his wallet and handed over $50. “Okay, okay, what is the answer?” the scholar asked.
The salesman said, “I don’t know,” pulled out a $5 bill, handed it to the scholar, and went back to sleep.
Moral of the story: Even when half asleep the average salesman with just street smarts still drives more revenue than the best educated scholar with book smarts and all the degrees money can buy! All through school we were trained to come up with correct answers. But as any sales professional will tell you, asking the best questions is a far more valuable skill!
When the salesman agreed to play, the scholar asked, “What’s the distance from the earth to the moon?” Flummoxed, the salesman handed him $5. “Ha!” said the scholar. “It’s 238,857 miles. Now it’s your turn.”
The salesman was silent for a few moments. Then he asked, “What goes up a hill with three legs and comes down with four?”
Puzzled, the scholar racked his brains for an hour–but to no avail. Finally he took out his wallet and handed over $50. “Okay, okay, what is the answer?” the scholar asked.
The salesman said, “I don’t know,” pulled out a $5 bill, handed it to the scholar, and went back to sleep.
Moral of the story: Even when half asleep the average salesman with just street smarts still drives more revenue than the best educated scholar with book smarts and all the degrees money can buy! All through school we were trained to come up with correct answers. But as any sales professional will tell you, asking the best questions is a far more valuable skill!
"Judge a man by his questions rather than his answers." - Voltaire
