Give a man a fish, and he's creating art. But teach him to fish, and soon you'll have a pool full of exploding koi.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The author twists the old proverb to suggest teaching skills can lead to unintended messy outcomes.
- In plain terms
- Teaching someone to fish might create too many fish.
- What can you take from it?
- Empowerment can have unintended consequences.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What if help creates problems?
- How do you scale teaching safely?
Another view
The analogy assumes fishing always leads to overpopulation.
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