Lessons from Dr Seuss

Have you ever really read Green Eggs’n Ham? You’ll probably recall this great Dr Seuss book from your childhood and the lessons in it are for everyone.

Firstly, Sam I Am asks for the order 16 times. That’s right, 16 times he tries to persuade The Cat In The Hat to try green eggs and ham. And guess what? On the 16th attempt The Cat responds with “Sam! I like green eggs and ham!” Seeing that most sales people give up on the first or second attempt and that, on average, sales are made on the fifth attempt doesn’t this make you give serious thought to how persistent you are in your selling efforts? How many attempts do you make to get the sale?

Secondly, a publisher bet Dr Seuss that he couldn’t write a book using only 50 different words. The publisher lost— Dr Seuss used only 47 different words in this 777-word story. Simple is beautiful.

And, no no! Green Eggs’n Ham is not one of the 6 Dr Seuss books that will no longer be published as announced in early 2021 because they “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong,” the business that preserves the author’s legacy said.

So you can take in the two messages here quite happily.