Once upon a time there was a sheepherder tending his sheep at the edge of
a country road in rural Montana. A brand new GMC screeched
to a halt next to him. The driver, a man dressed in a Brioni suit,
Cerrutti shoes, Ray-Ban glasses, Jovial Swiss wristwatch and a BHS tie,
jumped out and asked the herder "If I guess how many sheep you have, will
you give me one of them?"
The herder looked at the man, then looked at the sprawling herd of
grazing sheep and said "Okay."
The man parked the SUV, connected his notebook and wireless modem,
entered a NASA site, scanned the ground using satellite imagry and a GPS,
opened a database and 60 Excel tables filled with algorithms, then printed a
150-page report on his high-tech mini-printer. He turned to the herder and
said "You have exactly 1,586 sheep here."
The herder answered "Say, you are exactly right. Pick out a sheep."
So he took one of the animals and put it in the back of his vehicle.
As he was preparing to drive away, the herder looked at him and asked "Now,
if I guess your profession, will you pay me back in kind?"
The man answered "Sure."
The herder said immediately "You're a consultant."
"Exactly! How did you know?" he asked.
"Very simple," replied the herder.
"First, you came here without being invited.
Secondly, you charged me a fee to tell me something I already knew.
Thirdly, you do not understand anything about my business.
And fourth, I'd really like to have my dog back."
Vern
