Once upon a time, but not so long ago...

Johmel, the sometimes chosen and believed, who was a dawn unto his own day, had labored eighteen years among the people on the island of Oraclese in the Sea of Change, waiting for his ship to come in and carry him back to the place of his birth.

Oraclese, situated between several industrial and financial kingdoms, was a rich domain with a great history and relatively isolated culture. In commerce its people and firms held great wealth, but manufactured nothing; held vast real estate stakes, but served mostly as mortgagers; invested heavily, yet almost always for the sake of others; paid great benefits to its citizen-subscribers, and took pride in its munificence. The commerce of Oraclese withstood many tests to make it conform to normal commercial regulation; its differences and uniqueness kept it apart. It earned high standing in world economics-even though few really understood it-and the world bought from it but otherwise left it alone.

But times were changing÷as they will÷and the once mild tides of the Sea of Change had grown angry, sullen and dangerous, whipped by storms over the past few decades, eroding the very shores of the island, endangering the land and even the sea around it.

And in the eighteenth year, in the eleventh hour of the twelfth day of Diligence, Johmel climbed the hill within the city wall and beheld a vision that his ship was coming in with the mist.

His heart leapt with the joy of going home, even though he had lived and loved among the Oraclesians for several years. As he descended the hill, his heart spoke to his mind and asked: How shall I go from this place without sorrow? I have spent years of love and labor, joy and sorrow, laughter and loneliness among these people. Who could leave these lonely people and these lovely shores without a certain sadness in his heart?

And his mind replied: Think it through. What is home but a place or a memory where you choose to live? Ask the people, and let the people ask you. From dialogue with the market will you know the right path. Your heart and mind yearning for a vision is not enough. Reality and vision must meet and match.

At that moment Johmel reached the base of the hill, and a crowd had gathered, wondering what the mist was bringing. Fishermen from the shore, tillers from the fields, sweepers from the street, sellers from the markets, bankers and insurance brokers from the institutions; lawyers and accountants from their offices, the young and the old, the untested and the veteran, all were gathering.

Johmel wondered: Will my day of parting be the day of gathering? Will my eve really be my dawn?

As he reached the crowd, he silently pondered: What have I done that they would listen? What have I to offer that they would seek? What can I impart that they would benefit? If this is the hour for me to lift up my lantern, it is not my flame that burns therein, but there is light from it.

These things he said unto himself, yet still left much unsaid. For Johmel himself could not speak his deeper secret, even to himself.

And when Johmel stood before the crowd where it had gathered, he paused. And some elders came forth and said: Long have you lived among us, and we have worked together. We have loved and respected each other, yet rarely spoke it. Go not away this moment. The tide is not yet right for passage, and there are words we would have with you. And questions from those among us. We all have more to experience together, and more to learn from it.

And others came also and asked of him to stay awhile his departure. He spoke not, nor did he move on. And then a friend approached him, saying: In your time with us you have watched our days and listened to our worries and our laughter in the nights. Now therefor disclose us to ourselves, that we may also see what falls between arrival and departure from this land.

And Johmel answered: People of Oraclese, of what can I speak except that which is even now moving within your souls?

A veteran salesman addressed the master, saying: I had the knack. It was like a game, sizing people up quick, spotting what their pet pipe dreams were, and then kidding ëem along that line, pretending you believed what they wanted to believe about themselves. Then they liked you, they trusted you, they wanted to buy something to show their gratitude. It was fun. Adding, in a less ebullient tone: And now itís almost completely gone. Everybody wants everything proved, all of a sudden like, like someone went down every street in North America in a van with a giant boom box shouting a warning 'Watch out. Make 'em prove it.' like some would-be Ralph Nader shouting verbal warning labels in every ear he could plaster. What changed? Speak to us about change.

Johmel smiled and said: We are as all other life forms, but we deny it. Does not the bear hibernate in winter; the bird fly to warmer climates; the beaver sleep at home under its thickened coat? And when spring warms the earth again does not each emerge and reappear to take succor from reviving life, in each new year's dawning?

What's the buzz?

Why then do we also not read the signs of life and death and rebirth in our own commerce? Focus not on your technique and your attachment to it. Rather, see the change around you and adapt to your evolving environment. Evolve with it. Learn new fun in new ways that also bring joy to your changing clients. For as the wheat in the field will break if it is not elastic and bend with the wind, so too will the salesman become brittle and break when his unbending technique tries to stand against the tide. People are more alike than different, especially in their chosen groups. Heed their trends and adjust. The most fit survive changes in the environment, and fit does not mean strong. It means adaptable.

Remember too that change does not always mean progress, but progress always means change. Seek not therefor to change for the sake of changing, but adapt as needs be. Improvise, adapt, overcome. These are the actions of a survivor.

And Johmel concluded: When someone shoots your dog, teach your cat to hunt.

Then said a man in a dark suit, white shirt and silk tie: There is talk of change; that selling should now be marketing. Yet we have sold all our lives. Everyone sells, from the wealthiest landlord to the poorest store merchant, we all sell something. Speak to us on marketing....and selling.

Johmel raised his head and looked upon the people, and there fell a stillness upon them. And with clear voice he said: All transactions come from selling, and unless the salesperson can exchange product for the buyerís cash, all commerce is for naught. Selling then, preoccupies itself with the seller's need to make transactions. Marketing focuses on the needs and desires of groups of people, and how to develop solutions and deliver them at a profit. But so many marketers are simply salespeople moved over. They focus still on transactions at the expense of marketing opportunities unseen, unheeded, untapped.

The sales-minded tend to think in the following terms:

On the other side, marketers think in these terms:

Johmel summarized: In a nutshell, a seller is to a marketer as a fighter pilot is to a refueling tanker captain. They both have important roles, but too much of one and not another leads to disaster. Look now, therefor, to your own eroding beaches and ask yourselves if the heavy storms and tides are not invited by your own imbalance.

He concluded: It isn't what you don't know that hurts you. It's what you know for sure÷that just ain't so.

And the suited man retorted: Think, think, think. What is thinking without action? Publilius Syrus said'When we stop to think we often miss our opportunities.' What do you think about that?

Johmel replied quietly: Publilius Syrus is dead, and so is his culture. There are still romantics among us, but no longer Romans. Nothing has to be done so quickly that thinking has no place or value. There is more to life than increasing its speed. And remember: plans will get you into things, but you still have to work your way out.

And a bespectacled man stepped forward. In appearance he seemed successful but unlike the others in the crowd. The others recognized him as one of them, yet not akin to them. And the bespectacled man said, in a surprisingly clear and resonant voice that hinted at challenging Johmel: What about prospecting? There are many fish in the sea, yet not all are edible; some are too deep to catch; others elude nets; and no one can predict which will take the bait. Is not a net inappropriate for catching game fish? Speak to us about prospecting ÷especially for the big fish.

Johmel lowered his head for a moment, seeming to give weight to the challenge. He raised his head slowly, smiling, and offered: Your prospects are not your prospects. They are fair game for the hunters of the universe, and may end up on anyone's table as supper at any time. The secret is to find your strengths and match them to your targets. Does not the whale require great enterprise to capture, the cod a simple lure, the shark cunning and daring? Yet no fisherman seeks to bag all these. Smart fishermen know their strengths and work them, matching their own traits to their quarry's. Because they know themselves, they know what and how to fish. Seek, therefor, to learn and know yourself before choosing your targets, for when a person's knowledge is not in order, then the more of s/he has, the greater the confusion.

Then the bespectacled man interrupted: But aren't there some great targets anyone can go after? Why limit yourself to schools of cod if a whale is nearby?

Johmel replied: A fisherman alone in a small skiff can hook a whale, but probably will not catch or keep it. S/he could cling hooked to the whale for hours or days, and tire and capsize in the process, never bagging the whale. Unprepared, the cod fisherman hooking the whale is more irritating to the whale than the whale is food for the codder.

The codder who follows the cod yet seeks the whale will soon starve. For them I offer the ancient wisdom of the Chinese who said, It is difficult to catch a black cat in a dark roomÖespecially when the cat is not there. And a more modern way to express this thought; sell to people you like and you will never have to work for the rest of your life.

The crowd grew quiet as the bespectacled man withdrew, a bit, standing alone in his thoughts.

Then a woman spoke softly so as to make everyone listen harder, speaking words that flowed like honey from lips that always smiled, saying: Speak to us about the power of words, that we might learn how best to use them to attract clients to us.

Johmel The Observant paused a long moment, silently, until the crowd hung in great anticipation of his words. He smiled÷slowly÷and almost whispered: There is a kind of sweetness of character that stinks. The power of words is transitory and short-lived when people seek to deliver them better with style than with meaning. What is it of the seductress that is remembered; the words or their honeyed delivery? What of the politician's speech do you remember; the content or the delivery? Why do TV evangelists collect more money than the local churches when the local churches provide the suffering with the personal visits and solace they seek and pray for? Why? Because words offered in homilied delivery are easily accepted as promise of sweet deliverance. But this is illusion, and the illusion eventually falls away to the strength of life's realities.

If you would speak words for power, remember that all your word-crafting can do is attract÷only your deeds can sustain. Is not your integrity proved by comparing your deeds and acts to your words? Kurt Vonnegut was wrong when he said 'We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be.' We are what we do, regardless of what we say, and people watch to see if we walk our talk.

And we've not yet thought about our clients. How do they derive power from us? How do we really empower them? We are wise to always remember how our clients find their power. It is not from us; rather, it is by us that they empower themselves. They may not consciously think it, but they clearly profit from applying this natural truth÷I hear the words and I forget; I see and I remember; I do and I understand.

Johmel looked at the woman who had spoken with honeyed words and baited breath, saying: Put not sweet words and sounds into the ears of your clients; rather, put simple pen into their hands and use your words to lead them through their own thoughts and decisions, that they may be in awe of their own power, and not in awe of your power over them. This way they will follow you, for today and for their tomorrows, seeking your guidance, not just your answers. And they will bring others to you, who also long for guidance and coaching, not just charismatic charm. Good selling is not just telling.

Johmel, a word crafter in his own right, concluded: In the commerce of speech use only coin of gold and silver. Provide real value to those who will listen, for if the first ten words fail, then the next ten thousand will not convince either.

Then an unseen voice rose above the crowd, from the back, saying: We've heard all this before, yet no one seems to care enough to change. So, is all this really important? Speak to us about why it takes so long to catch on.

Johmel replied: Some folks never begin to figure till there's nothing left to add. Look at the tide, and decide for yourself. We are all in this together by ourselves.

The voice rose again from the back of the crowd: So why are banks and stock brokers so enamored with us that they seek to become as we are?

Johmel replied: Although immigration is the sincerest form of flattery, do not let the movement to your shores by your competitors flatter you. They are not coming to be like you; they are coming to take your commerce because they believe they can do it better than you.

The voice shouted in frustration: But they don't know how to do it. Nobody can take better care of our clients than we can! If we just keep on prospecting and caring for our clients, don't you think we can win?

Johmel replied: The mouse with but one hole is easily taken. You, as a salesperson, are outflanked by capital your competitors are willing to put at risk, systems they are building to be more efficient, and more business-like relationships your clients may prefer.

If you survey not your clients for what they really want, and if your surveys seek only to learn how much your clients love you, then you will wither like the marriage where the words endure but loving acts no longer occur to reassure. In such a case, a simple act of honest kindness can capture a withering heart, whether it be done by you or your competitor.

Tend your flock, yes, but do not think that simple shepherding alone will save and nurture your clients. Think like a modern rancher and build ways to multiply your flock and sort out the sick and ornery among them.

The Voice, again: But these unfair competitors are coyotes, wolves and jackals. They are tearing us apart, often by unfair methods. Is there no justice?

Johmel replied with certainty: On the plains or in the mountains, in the air or under ground, life is what it is, and it evolves as the climate and terrain change. Ones who hunt become hunted. Ones who eat become food for others. There may be room for compromise, to join forces for a greater good than each lonely shepherd can do alone. As for calling names at ones competitors, remember: Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river. The truth is plainly clear. I will say no more on this.

The Voice shouted: Why not? Giving up?

Said Johmel assuredly: Yes. I learned from experience never to wrestle with a pig÷ you both get dirty but the pig likes it. Nor will I throw a stone at a mouse and break a precious vase. There is more here to consider than how you feel about the tide coming on. There is a tide and it is coming, like it or not.

One among the crowd rose to speak, saying: Some of us have employees, but in a small business we cannot avoid finding one who is not somehow also a problem, a thorn in our side. Isn't it usually better to stay small, do it all ourselves, and not have to hassle with employees who complain, insist on trying their own way and don't respect us? Speak to us about staffing a truly small business.

Johmel suggested: Let the bird fly. If it takes wing and flies for you, you have an asset. If it cannot, simply clip its wings and let it flap on its perch and parrot your actions. It may squawk but it will not be as troublesome as you think, once it learns its limitations. Even in a small business it is better to struggle with a sick jackass than to carry the wood yourself.

Then a young enthusiast spoke, with alarming energy and drive: I don't want to be a one trick pony. I love the game, and I thrive on diversity. There are many like me÷young, eager, energetic÷who feel as I do, yet suffer the advice of others to stay calm, belay the frenzy, work methodically. Speak to us about variety, and those of us who have the energy and drive to manage it.

Johmel smiled, remembering his own youth, and mused a moment, knowing that nothing he could say would change a single thought in the minds of youthful enthusiasts; nor should it. Johmel knew that nature would take its course, and he said: Too many undertakings are like bobbing for apples; some bob up while you bob the others down.

It isn't what you don't know that hurts you.
It's what you know for sure...that just ain't so!

It is fine to pursue variety, for 'tis variety's the spice of life that gives it all its flavor. But there is flavor and there is substance. Savor life's flavors, but work also for substance, using your talents÷not just your dreams÷to guide you. Do not try to catch two frogs with one hand, for even as you catch one, upon attempting the second the first will flee, and both will be lost. Bag one frog at a time. And remember that variety has many faces. Does not the piano player use two hands on the same keyboard to make a tune, with different purposes for each hand? The more variety you can find in a single endeavor, the better you will perform.

Then an elder rose and spoke to Johmel and the crowd both, saying: The mist has arrived with the tide, and the hour to depart is close at hand. In the little time remaining, will you not address the questions yet unasked, and share your learning with us ere you go? Speak from your heart, and with these last words we will remember you and your time among us. For now the tide will take you from us, and though it may return you, it will be in another time and we will all be different. Speak to us, then, truths we should hear, that we may also seek to know them.

Johmel drew deep breath and thought silently: Of what can I speak that they could seek to learn themselves? What coaching can I start but not finish? It is one of life's riddles that I cannot know which ears are deaf, yet I must address the Oraclesians ere I depart. Here goes.

And Johmel spoke, addressing everyone and no one in particular, saying, in a stream of consciousness:

Knowledge is not power; only knowledge in use is power. Learn, then apply it.

He who learns exclusively by his own mistakes is a fool.

What you see is not so much hard times coming; the change is mostly soft times going.

A person must make one's opportunity as oft as find it.

There is no security on this earth; there is only opportunity.

We all live under the same sky, but we don't have the same horizon.

A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to.

It is as proper to have pride in oneself as it is ridiculous to show it to others.

Business exists to serve customers, and unless it does that, it fails.

A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

Every crowd has a silver lining.

Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense. And common sense isn't all that common.

In all affairs it's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.

Persistency at the beginning and end of an endeavor make the difference. It is not the last blow of the axe that fells the tree.

The great salesman brings home not only the bacon but also the applesauce.

A foot in the door is worth two on the desk.

Even if youíre on the right track, youíll get run over if you just sit there.

Discourse on virtue and they pass by in droves. Whistle and dance the shimmy and you've got an audience.

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not do rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.

The only way is you. The only way out is through.

And in one final, solemn moment, Johmel raised his face to the crowd, and smiling broadly said: Innovators are inevitably controversial. Thanks for hearing me through. When I am dead, I hope it may be said, 'His sins were scarlet but his books were read.' Good-bye. I've got to catch the boat.

The author gratefully acknowledges the collective wisdom of Aristotle through Zanadu as sources for many of the thoughts expressed in this article, with special thanks to Kahlil Gibran for his masterpiece"The Prophet" after which this parody is fashioned.