A Business Fable in 30 Seconds: The Shower

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up hers. Suddenly, the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.

Before she says a word, Bob says, "I’ll give you $800 to drop that towel for just two seconds" After thinking about it for a moment, the woman decides that it's a good trade and so drops her towel and stands naked. After two seconds, Bob hands her $800 without a word and leaves. The woman wraps herself back in the towel and goes back upstairs to tell her husband about the easy money she just made.

When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?"

"It was Bob from next door," she replies, "and I have some great news."

"Oh, good," the husband says, "Is it about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.