Page 159 - Make Work Great

7 From Contributor to Advisor

magine a large cage housing fi ve monkeys. A ladder in the cen-
Iter leads up to a tasty bunch of bananas. But each time a monkey
attempts to climb the ladder, an experimenter stops it with a spray
of ice-cold water at high pressure. In the process, the primates that
aren’t climbing the ladder also feel the punishing effect of the icy
spray. Soon, the fi ve monkeys learn to steer clear of the ladder, ignore
the bananas, and go about their lives in the rest of the cage.
Now imagine removing one of the monkeys and replacing it with
a new one. Naturally, the newcomer gravitates toward the ladder and
its tasty prize. But the other four know better. To protect themselves
from the harsh spray, they take action to prevent the newcomer’s
ascent. Their actions are hostile and physical—monkeys don’t have
meetings, after all—and successful. After a few thwarted attempts
and a few new bruises, the recent initiate learns to live like the others,
all but ignoring the ladder and its prize.
This metaphor is often employed to explain the irrational pull of
policy and precedent in organizations. The animals can be replaced
slowly, one at a time, until the cage houses fi ve monkeys who have
never felt the spray of icy water, yet they will not allow each other to
climb to the bananas even if the experimenter departs and the threat
is removed. Most often, this story is presented as an experimental
result, although it may well be an urban myth.

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