11/ 21/ 2006
by Harvey King
This is a fish story, and, like all fish stories, it must begin: I swear this is true.
A long time ago, when I was first starting the business I now run (back when there were only five of us working on folding tables and chairs), I was invited to make a sales presentation to the biggest fish anyone in my industry could ever hope to land. A strange and never-to-be-repeated chain of coincidences led to the invitation. But with a freedom that comes from being young and inexperienced and not knowing what you don't know, I thought it quite natural that I was being invited by Moby Dick to come to his place to fish.
The presentation could not have gone better--you could see in their eyes that we were reeling them in.
I could even sense that they were enjoying getting caught. Sure enough, I received a congratulatory phone call the next day telling me to expect another call the following week to "work out the details."
After a weekend of much celebrating and office furniture shopping, I woke up Monday morning to discover a story in the Wall Street Journal detailing a management restructuring at Moby Dick International. That "working out the details" call never came, as the team who loved us was restructured to another continent--or planet--the last I heard. (That flopping sound you hear is Moby Dick jumping out of the boat, back into the sea.)
I didn't cancel the furniture order (I'm sitting at the desk I purchased that weekend years ago). But I did readjust my fishing tactics, and the experience taught me lots about the joys of fishing for smaller catches in smaller ponds. I learned more about managing my own and others' expectations. I learned how to cope with setbacks and disappointments--lessons that would prove critical in the years to follow. Most importantly, I learned that succeeding in business is more about learning how to enjoy fishing than believing that joy comes from actually catching the fish.
Over the years, I have wondered what may have happened if we'd caught Moby Dick--if the big one hadn't gotten away. Because I know now what I didn't know then, I can easily conclude it would have led us down a different stream--one that would likely have led to a giant waterfall.
No doubt about it: I'm thankful for that fish that got away.
And I swear, that is true.
