Few years ago, there was a telemarketer from Citibank called my number. He was David, who was trying to promote their bank credit card loan advancement to me. Sounded excited he said I was eligible for a maximum card's loan for 150k. Out of a joke, I told him that 150k was too small for me. If the bank was to offer me a 2 million facility, I might consider taking it up.
David being young and naive said that 150k was the maximum the bank could give. I threw him a challenge! If he could take the trouble to check and verify from all sources in his bank, he would be surprised that more loans are available for me. He was still hesitating!
I gave him two choices. The first was do nothing and forget what I had mentioned, and kept calling another prospect for more sales elsewhere . The second was to seek further advices and information from other various departments for further enquiries. I gave my personal tips to this young man.. If he opted to take choice one, he would learn nothing in his work. Where else if he took the second choice which might incurred more time and effort on him, he would definitely learn much more in the process of the investigation. I gave him one week for the second task.
Tell you what! He came back in four days, full of enthusiasm and confidence to relate his story to me. Yes! The bank could offer me a combined loan value of 1.5 million from three different departments. His credit card section could only give out 150k. Though I hadn't taken up this 1.5 million from David, he was frank to tell that he really had learned so much from these four days of asking questions from various staffs in his bank. Today, David is promoted as a manager of the bank. I still haven't see him in person but he never failed to chat with me occasionally on the phone, taking me as a good friend who had shown him the way to reach success in the working world.
Food for thought - “No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it. We need to see the world anew.” Albert Einstein
2 comments:
I have learnt much from this mighty young man, Robert Foo since college days and till today he still continues to amaze me. He is definitely my friend, my mentor, and the only unique one in the entire universe.
My dear Julius,
You have proven to me you are truly my good student. All my effort was not wasted. Now it's your turn to mentor the others around you.
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