Innovation – Simply Put

Today I received one of those e-mail stories that circulate through cyberspace. It’s a simple story, but it sure makes a point... with a lesson that is as apt for business as it is for personal matters. Here it is:

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: "I am blind; please help." There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. Many more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"

The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way. I wrote: ‘Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.’"

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. The first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be creative. Be innovative. And reap the rewards.