an·ec·dote (noun) a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident
Knowledge is cumulative over time.
We write it down,
we teach it to our children,
we pass it on,
we listen to our elders when they pass down knowledge.
Wisdom is not.
We gain wisdom by learning from experience; our experiences and the experience of others.
A wise person learns from the experiences of
others
Wisdom is the
product of
information
(which is knowledge),
analysis (of that
information),
and judgment.
I am a Certified Public Accountant. As such, I have had the
good fortune of being the most intimate financial and
business advisor to hundreds and hundreds of businesses and
their owners over the years. They have shared their most
personal thoughts with me, and sought my counsel on any
number of issues. I have been blessed by their trust and
confidence. I think of it as financial psychiatry
sometimes.
Rarely, if ever, have I had an “answer” for them. Rather, I
have helped them to sift through their information at hand
and analyze for their own context. I have coached,
inquired, and played devil’s advocate to help them come to
whatever conclusion was best for them in their situation.
Simply put, I have helped them develop their own wisdom for
the problem at hand.
I am in awe at our educational system, at how magnificent
it is in advancing knowledge. I am absolutely at a loss as
to how to advance wisdom in our society. If we can
accomplish that, we will begin a new cultural revolution to
the entire world’s benefit.
The “short stories” presented herein are my observations of
real live business experiences of others. Hopefully, you
have not experienced these situations personally. As you
read each saga and contemplate the scenario, I hope you
will take away a kernel of wisdom from their experience to
benefit you in your own affairs. The more we can learn from
the experiences of others, perhaps the less we have to
learn ourselves.
Business owner: "How could she do this to me?
For what I pay her, I shouldn't have these
problems!"
Can you afford "A New Customer at Any
Cost?"
"Why shouldn't I put
money into this deal?"
"Get Those Vendors
off My Back!" or "What Unpaid Payroll
Taxes?"
Your comments and feedback are most welcome.