Strolling down the shopping streets of Quimper, France this afternoon we came upon a beggar. A young man in his twenties was bent down on one knee. He wore black combat boots and was flanked by two large, not so scrawny, German Sheppard-type dogs. He silently held out his open hand, which contained a few coins.
A delivery truck drove between us and the young man at the moment we passed him on the opposite side of the street, but he did not go unnoticed by a curious 7 year-old. My son asked, “Why does the guy back there have coins in his hand like that?”. “The guy doesn’t have money,” I started to explain. “Maybe he needs to buy food or something else and he is hoping people will give him some money”.
My son looked at me, pondered this briefly and then said, “Mommy, I’m not really sure that’s going to work out for him.” His tone was matter of fact and the look on his face was one of both skepticism and genuine concern, as if pleading for someone to let the guy know he should come up with a better plan.
Surprisingly the conversation stopped there, without the usual 20 additional follow up questions. Harder questions on this difficult topic are sure to come in the future. For now, my son had skipped past all the why questions and simply made a quick on the spot assessment of the guy’s value proposition and strategy. Is the course of action likely to achieve the desired result? Perhaps because the guy’s needs were not apparent, my son concluded no.
His way of assessing the situation struck a chord with me because I see so many business starters eager to skip this all important question. Is it likely to work?
The fresh perspective of a child might be exactly what you need to help you ask the most basic and difficult questions about your own plans. Luckily my son is available for hire, for a modest consulting fee, of course.
Photo credit: Kristopher Wilson
Suzy Ogé is an American born business woman living in The Hague, The Netherlands. 