There are, I have learned, two kinds of technology consultant.
One, according to a rather jaded CIO friend of mine, will ask to borrow your wristwatch so he can bill you to tell you what time it is.
The other, according to Ganesh Natarajan, chair of Indian IT professional association NASSCOM, works a little differently:
A rich sheikh dies, leaving his fleet of 17 camels to his three sons. The eldest is to receive half of the camels; the middle son, one-third; and the youngest, one-ninth. The mathematics don’t work: What’s half of 17? So they call a consultant.
The next day, a man with a suit and briefcase riding a camel comes to the sheikh’s sons. They explain the arimetical connundrum. “No problem at all,” says the consultant. “Take my camel.”
Now, with 18 camels, the sums make sense. One-half of the camels, nine, goes to the eldest son; one-third, or six, to the middle son; and one-ninth, two camels, to the youngest.
