My Partner, Murray, just returned from vacation in the Dominican Republic. Murray is a mergers and acquisitions megastar, and focuses on business development and sales. He’s always worked hard and expected the most from those around him. The many hours he puts in every day have gained him the name “El Toro,” because he moves forward, unrelenting, like a bull. It always seems like Murray has a plan – that he’s on a road, or a path, of his own design, heading toward a destination of success of his own creation.
When he got back from the Dominican Republic, however, he seemed a bit off.
“What wrong?” I asked.
“Nothing, I guess,” he responded. “I got laughed at by a fisherman.”
I handed Murray his sixth coffee of the day. “Sit down,” I implored. “This is a story I must hear.”
“It’s not funny, “he insisted, but he did tell the tale.
Upon landing in the Republic, Murray had taken a walk down by the water, where he came upon a fisherman tying up his small boat. The boat contained six good-sized fish. The fisherman told Murray it had taken him about three hours to catch those fish.
Murray was surprised at the quality and quantity of the catch, in such a small time. “You should stay out longer and catch more,” he suggested.
“But this is enough to feed my family,” the fisherman told him. “There’s no need. Also, I can sleep in, and after I’m done, I take siestas with my wife when she’s in the mood, and still have time to go into town, eat, drink and play guitar with my friends.”
“But, you could sell the extra fish, and use the money to buy a bigger boat with better fishing gear,” Murray explained.
“And then what?” his new friend asked.
“You could then catch even more and bigger fish.
“And then what?”
“Then you could sell those fish as well”
“And??”
“With this extra money, you could buy a second boat, and then a third, and a fourth. Once you have an entire fleet, you can start selling directly to the fish processors and cut out the middleman.”
“And then what?” the fisherman again inquired.
“Then you move from this small town into one of the bigger cities, where you work hard, and start canning your own fish, and begin exporting to countries around the world.”
“And then what?” the man asked.
“Well,” said Murray, “then you give me a call and we come out and put together an IPO to take your company public – you’ll make millions.”
“And then what?” he asked.
“Well, then you will be set for life.”
“And then what would I do?”
“Then,” said Murray, “you can live how you want. You can buy a condo in a smaller village next to the water, where you sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings, where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
At which point the fisherman laughed.
“You American Lawyers are so funny,” he said, and turned back to his boat.
© 2014 under analysis LLC. Under analysis is a syndicated column of the Levison Group. Charles S. Kramer is a principal of the St. Louis-based law firm, Riezman Berger, PC.