The Difference Between “Should” and “Can”

Following is a true story.  I am deliberately vague so as to protect the innocent.

There once was this guy who was asked to do a presentation for some very important people at a big company.  They had a problem that they believed he could solve, so they asked him what they should do to resolve their problem.  You see, try as they might, they couldn’t fix some problems at their company, so they asked this guy to help them out.

The day of the presentation came.  When he stood before them, the very important people asked, “What should we do?”

The guy said, “You should fire everyone at your company who performs this function and hire a company that specializes in that function to come and take it over for you.”

The very important people sat in stunned silence.  They just blinked at him.

He looked back at them.

“Uh…,” one of them said, “what else can we do?”

He moved on to plans B, C, and D.  Nobody talked about his first plan again.

What’s the moral of the story?  Read into it what you will.  For me, it’s the difference between “should” and “can.”  Sometimes, we just can’t make the hard decision and do what we should do.  Instead, we do something else that we can do, something that feels much safer.  

Language is precise.  I think it’s important to realize what you ask for so that the response doesn’t shock you.  That way, you avoid looking foolish as you backtrack.  Good advice for you, even better advice for me.