was obsessed with his new drill. In fact, Bill used his new drill so much he wore it out. But when he tried to return it, the shop was closed and there was nowhere to return it to, and the security guard at the now empty building said he’d just have to go out and buy another drill. He also suggested Bill should be more careful with the next one.

And so Bill went to another shop, and ignoring all the salesmen this time picked out a new drill. This one was shiny and had more buttons to play with. But when Bill got it home he found it still only seemed to make the same size and shape holes as the old one.

This time Bill was more careful. He put the

Bill wanted a drill.

Well, he didn’t really want a drill; he wanted a hole, to fit a nail in to hang a picture on because the wall he was trying to hang his picture on was too tough to simply hammer a nail in. But when he asked his friend Bob how to make a hole, Bob said Bill would need a drill, so off Bill dutifully went to the shops to buy a drill.

But Bill went to a huge DIY superstore that sold every kind of drill ever made, and a dozen salesmen all wanted to sell Bill a different drill. One promised his drill would make holes faster, one said his drill was quieter, one claimed his was more economical, another more environmentally friendly, until Bill’s eyes were sore and his head swimming.

Then the store announcer came over the intercom and announced the store was closing in five minutes and would never open again. If Bill didn’t get his drill now, he would never be able to get one. In a blind panic, Bill grabbed the nearest drill to him and ran to the checkout.

Back home, Bill decided to try out his new drill. When he plugged it in and switched it on, he immediately switched it back off again in horror. It was noisy and vibrated heavily in his hand. He phoned his friend Bob who reassured him that drills were like that and he would soon get used to it.

Reassured, Bill drilled his first hole. What a disaster! Even though Bill had gotten accustomed to the noise and the vibration of the drill, when he put it up against the wall, instead of slicing into the wall like butter as Bill remembered watching his dad’s do, this one skittered across the wall, leaving a long gouge but no hole.

Thinking he was going to cover the gouge up with the picture anyway, Bill pulled himself together and decided to have another go. After a few more attempts, and a few more unsightly gouges in the wall, Bill finally made his first hole. His pride at this achievement was only slightly dampened when he realised the nail he wanted to hang the picture on was three sizes smaller than the hole. He simply went and got a bigger nail.

Inspired, Bill decided to hang a whole swathe of pictures, only partly to cover up the gouges in the wall, which amazingly seemed to have spread much further than he realised. Having tried unsuccessfully to alter the size of the hole in any way, Bill discarded the nail he’d originally wanted to use, a delicate gold one with a fancy head, and bought a bag of standard nails that fit the hole the drill made.

Over the next few weeks, Bill drilled and drilled and drilled. His house was covered in holes, and some of his friends, including Bob, were a little worried Bill was obsessed with his new drill. In fact, Bill used his new drill so much he wore it out. But when he tried to return it, the shop was closed and there was nowhere to return it to, and the security guard at the now empty building said he’d just have to go out and buy another drill. He also suggested Bill should be more careful with the next one.

And so Bill went to another shop, and ignoring all the salesmen this time picked out a new drill. This one was shiny and had more buttons to play with. But when Bill got it home he found it still only seemed to make the same size and shape holes as the old one.

This time Bill was more careful. He put the

until Bill’s eyes were sore and his head swimming.

Then the store announcer came over the intercom and announced the store was closing in five minutes and would never open again. If Bill didn’t get his drill now, he would never be able to get one. In a blind panic, Bill grabbed the nearest drill to him and ran to the checkout.

Back home, Bill decided to try out his new drill. When he plugged it in and switched it on, he immediately switched it back off again in horror. It was noisy and vibrated heavily in his hand. He phoned his friend Bob who reassured him that drills were like that and he would soon get used to it.

Reassured, Bill drilled his first hole. What a disaster! Even though Bill had gotten accustomed to the noise and the vibration of the drill, when he put it up against the wall, instead of slicing into the wall like butter as Bill remembered watching his dad’s do, this one skittered across the wall, leaving a long gouge but no hole.

Thinking he was going to cover the gouge up with the picture anyway, Bill pulled himself together and decided to have another go. After a few more attempts, and a few more unsightly gouges in the wall, Bill finally made his first hole. His pride at this achievement was only slightly dampened when he realised the nail he wanted to hang the picture on was three sizes smaller than the hole. He simply went and got a bigger nail.

Inspired, Bill decided to hang a whole swathe of pictures, only partly to cover up the gouges in the wall, which amazingly seemed to have spread much further than he realised. Having tried unsuccessfully to alter the size of the hole in any way, Bill discarded the nail he’d originally wanted to use, a delicate gold one with a fancy head, and bought a bag of standard nails that fit the hole the drill made.

Over the next few weeks, Bill drilled and drilled and drilled. His house was covered in holes, and some of his friends, including Bob, were a little worried Bill was obsessed with his new drill. In fact, Bill used his new drill so much he wore it out. But when he tried to return it, the shop was closed and there was nowhere to return it to, and the security guard at the now empty building said he’d just have to go out and buy another drill. He also suggested Bill should be more careful with the next one.

And so Bill went to another shop, and ignoring all the salesmen this time picked out a new drill. This one was shiny and had more buttons to play with. But when Bill got it home he found it still only seemed to make the same size and shape holes as the old one.

This time Bill was more careful. He put the

d his first hole. What a disaster! Even though Bill had gotten accustomed to the noise and the vibration of the drill, when he put it up against the wall, instead of slicing into the wall like butter as Bill remembered watching his dad’s do, this one skittered across the wall, leaving a long gouge but no hole.

Thinking he was going to cover the gouge up with the picture anyway, Bill pulled himself together and decided to have another go. After a few more attempts, and a few more unsightly gouges in the wall, Bill finally made his first hole. His pride at this achievement was only slightly dampened when he realised the nail he wanted to hang the picture on was three sizes smaller than the hole. He simply went and got a bigger nail.

Inspired, Bill decided to hang a whole swathe of pictures, only partly to cover up the gouges in the wall, which amazingly seemed to have spread much further than he realised. Having tried unsuccessfully to alter the size of the hole in any way, Bill discarded the nail he’d originally wanted to use, a delicate gold one with a fancy head, and bought a bag of standard nails that fit the hole the drill made.

Over the next few weeks, Bill drilled and drilled and drilled. His house was covered in holes, and some of his friends, including Bob, were a little worried Bill was obsessed with his new drill. In fact, Bill used his new drill so much he wore it out. But when he tried to return it, the shop was closed and there was nowhere to return it to, and the security guard at the now empty building said he’d just have to go out and buy another drill. He also suggested Bill should be more careful with the next one.

And so Bill went to another shop, and ignoring all the salesmen this time picked out a new drill. This one was shiny and had more buttons to play with. But when Bill got it home he found it still only seemed to make the same size and shape holes as the old one.

This time Bill was more careful. He put the

e on was three sizes smaller than the hole. He simply went and got a bigger nail.

Inspired, Bill decided to hang a whole swathe of pictures, only partly to cover up the gouges in the wall, which amazingly seemed to have spread much further than he realised. Having tried unsuccessfully to alter the size of the hole in any way, Bill discarded the nail he’d originally wanted to use, a delicate gold one with a fancy head, and bought a bag of standard nails that fit the hole the drill made.

Over the next few weeks, Bill drilled and drilled and drilled. His house was covered in holes, and some of his friends, including Bob, were a little worried Bill was obsessed with his new drill. In fact, Bill used his new drill so much he wore it out. But when he tried to return it, the shop was closed and there was nowhere to return it to, and the security guard at the now empty building said he’d just have to go out and buy another drill. He also suggested Bill should be more careful with the next one.

And so Bill went to another shop, and ignoring all the salesmen this time picked out a new drill. This one was shiny and had more buttons to play with. But when Bill got it home he found it still only seemed to make the same size and shape holes as the old one.

This time Bill was more careful. He put the

was obsessed with his new drill. In fact, Bill used his new drill so much he wore it out. But when he tried to return it, the shop was closed and there was nowhere to return it to, and the security guard at the now empty building said he’d just have to go out and buy another drill. He also suggested Bill should be more careful with the next one.

And so Bill went to another shop, and ignoring all the salesmen this time picked out a new drill. This one was shiny and had more buttons to play with. But when Bill got it home he found it still only seemed to make the same size and shape holes as the old one.

This time Bill was more careful. He put the drill away in its box when he had done with it, and even cleaned it once in a while. He read the instructions and learned how to make good clean holes. No more gouges in the walls for Bill. He could now drill a line of neat, perfect holes in almost any material. As long as they were the same shape and size, that is.

Bill became so proficient at making holes that he became known as the ‘hole expert’ and whenever one of his friends wanted a hole they would call him and he would tell them to buy a drill. Occasionally one of them would call him back later and complain that the drill was noisy and messy, and Bill would say. ‘That’s how drills are, you know. You want a hole, you gotta drill.’ And if any of them complained about the size or shape of the resulting hole he would tell them, ‘at least it’s a hole, right? And any hole is better than none.’

But the truth was Bill was starting to feel like he was hiding behind the drill, using it as an excuse not to make a better hole. He wistfully remembered the dainty screw with the fancy head he’d wanted to hang that very first picture on and wished he’d found a way to make a better hole: one that he wanted, not a standard, one-size-fits-all hole.

And so when this drill one day refused to work as well, instead of heading out for the shops to buy another replacement, Bill went and dug that tiny, fancy screw out of the drawer he’d slung it in all those years ago. After staring at it in a trance like state for many hours, Bill tucked it in his pocket.

The next day Bill found another huge DIY superstore with a dozen salesmen. He approached each one and politely listened to their ‘buy my drill’ speech, then as each one finished, he quietly pulled the fancy screw out of his pocket and asked.

‘But can it drill a hole this size?’

The above allegory is inspired by this simple quote I read on the Internet:

Nobody who ever bought a drill actually wanted a drill.
They wanted a hole.
Therefore, if you want to sell drills, you should advertise information about making holes, not information about drills.