Crystal balls and eating ground glass

Aurelie   Sun Apr 09, 2006 1:36 am GMT
What "he who lives by a crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass” means? Maybe: if you are tempted you'll surrender?
Guest   Sun Apr 09, 2006 2:30 am GMT
Fiedler's Forecasting Rules (Business 101):

1. It is very difficult to forecast, especially about the future.

2. He who lives by the crystal ball soon learns to eat ground glass.

3. The moment you forecast, you know you're going to be wrong—you just don't know when and in which direction.

4. If you're ever right, never let them forget it.

Edgar R. Fiedler was an economist who cautioned that predicting future trends in business and economics was fraught with uncertainty and upheavals. A good businessman relies heavily on economic forecasts (the crystal ball), so he quickly learns to toughen his resolve and harden his stomach in order to deal with these upheavals (picture what eating ground glass will do to your digestive system).