The Consultant
Once upon a time there was a shepherd tending his sheep at the edge of a country
road. A brand new Mustang screeches to a halt next to him. The driver, a young
man dressed in an Armani suit, Cerrutti shoes, Oakley glasses, TAG wrist watch and
a Bhs tie gets out and asks the shepherd, ‘If I guess how many sheep you have, will
you give me one of them?’ The shepherd looks at the young man, then looks at the
sprawling field of sheep and says, ‘Okay.’ The young man parks the car, connects
his notebook and wireless modem, enters a NASA site, scans the ground using his
GPS, opens a database and 60 Excel tables filled with algorithms, then prints a 150
page report on his high tech mini printer. He then turns to the shepherd and says,
‘You have exactly 1,586 sheep here.’ The shepherd answers: ‘That’s correct, you
can have your sheep.’ The young man takes one of the animals and puts it in the
back of his vehicle. The shepherd looks at him and asks: ‘Now, if I guess your
profession, will you pay me back in kind?’ The young man answers: ‘Sure.’ The
shepherd says, ‘You are a consultant.’ ‘Exactly! How did you know?’ asks the young
man. ‘Very simple,’ answers the shepherd. ‘First, you came here without being
called. Second, you charged me a fee to tell me something I already knew. Third,
you do not understand anything about my business ... and I’d really like to have my
dog back.’