Opportunity knocks

Here's an anecdote I read in today's The Globe and Mail:

A shoo-in among the greats

Following the passing of Tom Bata, one of our country's giants ('Shoemaker To The World,' Bata Dies At 93 – Sept. 2), I have to add one of the most famous tribal stories of business, one told in many Marketing 101 courses. Bata, one of the world's largest shoe manufacturers, sells more than a million Bata-branded shoes every working day around the world. In the 1950s, when Tom and his wife, Sonja, were expanding their company, they sent representatives to Africa to see if that region represented a market for their shoes. One Bata representative went down the west coast, another down the east coast.

Both sent telexes back to Bata's head office. One read, "No business opportunities here. No one wears shoes." The other said, "Lots of business opportunities here. No one wears shoes."

When I asked Sonja Bata if this legendary story is true, she confirmed it is. She loves telling it.

Darcy Rezac, managing director, Vancouver Board of Trade

The story speaks for itself. Opportunity knocks if we can only recognize it as such.