I was re-reading GREEN EGGS AND HAM to my daughter this morning. I have probably read this book 1,000 times over the years (including many hundreds of times when I was a child). I just love this book. Dr. Seuss was a genius. Not many books sell as many today as it did 40 years ago.
But what struck me about the book today is what a great sales-person SAM-I-AM is.
First he is selling an unappealing product. Green Eggs? Ugh! But he persists. The other dude (does anyone know his name?) is a grouch. He doesn’t want to see Sam-I-Am at all. He just wants to read his newspaper and to be left alone. But Sam-I-Am insists. Every time the other dude says no, Sam-I-Am comes back with a new option. How about with a Fox? In a Car? He won’t stop. He is relentless.
Finally, Sam-I-Am gets the other dude to try. By now these green eggs and ham are soggy, cold and been near mice, goats and other vermin. But the other dude still tries them. And guess what? He likes Green Eggs and Ham!!!
So, I want Sam-I-Am on my sales force. But did the other dude ever try the ham too?
