Two salesmen have been called to a meeting at a company which is looking
to buy one of their products. The decision of which product to buy will
be based on these presentations, so for both salesmen it's a vitally
important day.
In the board room, the company directors have all been gathered, and the first salesman is called into the room.
His presentation uses a flip-chart, with his diagrams all pre-printed on the pages of the chart.
The
pages are all organized in the right order, and the presentation goes
completely smoothly. The board are impressed, but they still need to
see the other presentation.
So the second salesman is called into the board room to face the directors.
He
has decided to use an overhead projector for his presentation, with
acetate slides, but it's otherwise much the same as the first one. His
slides are organized in a folder carefully in the right order, with
bookmarks for important slides so he can go back to them if there's any
questions.
The presentation starts off well, as he works his way
through the slides, but right in the middle, just as he's reaching the
most important section, his ultimate nightmare strikes - he drops the
folder, and his carefully organized acetates scatter all over the floor.
In
a panic, he gathers them together. But it's too late - his presentation
is in chaos. Even without the embarrassment, the sheets are now all in
the wrong order, some have gotten dirty from the floor, and there's one
particular one that he just can't seem to find anywhere.
He finishes
his speech, but he knows even before he's finished that he's lost the
deal, and so it proves to be. The final announcement is made in favor
of the first salesman's product, and so the second salesman has lost the
business.
After all, he who acetates is lost.