Another one relating to ...
FELIX THE FLYING FROG, a Parable About Modern Management
=========================================================
Once upon a time, there lived a man named Clarence who had a pet frog named Felix.
Clarence lived a modestly comfortable existence on what he earned working at the
Wal-Mart, but he always dreamed of being rich. "Felix!" he said one day, hit by sudden
inspiration, "We're going to be rich! I will teach you to fly!"
Felix, of course, was terrified at the prospect. "I can't fly, you twit! I'm a frog, not a
canary!" Clarence, disappointed at the initial response, told Felix: "That negative attitude
of yours could be a real problem. I'm
sending you to class."
So Felix went to a three-day course and learned about problem solving, time
management, and effective communication-but nothing about flying. On the first day of
the "flying lessons," Clarence could barely control his excitement (and Felix could barely
control his bladder). Clarence explained that their apartment building had 15 floors, and
each day Felix would jump out of a window, starting with the first floor and eventually
getting to the top floor.
After each jump, Felix would analyze how well he flew, isolate the most effective flying
techniques, and implement the improved process for the next flight. By the time they
reached the top floor, Felix would surely be able to fly. Felix pleaded for his life, but his
pleas fell on deaf ears. "He just doesn't understand how important this is," thought
Clarence. "He can't see the big picture."
So, with that, Clarence opened the window and threw Felix out. He landed with a thud.
The next day, poised for his second flying lesson, Felix again begged not to be thrown
out of the window. Clarence opened his pocket guide to "Managing More Effectively,"
and showed Felix the part about how one must always expect resistance when
introducing new, innovative programs. With that, he threw Felix out the window --
THUD!
On the third day (at the third floor), Felix tried a different ploy: stalling. He asked for a
delay in the "project" until better weather would make flying conditions more favorable.
But Clarence was ready for him: He
produced a timeline and pointed to the third Milestone and asked. "You don't want to
slip up the schedule, do you?"
From his training, Felix knew that not jumping today would only mean that he would
have to jump TWICE tomorrow. So he just muttered, "OK, yee-haw, let's go." And out
the window he went. Now this is not to say that Felix
wasn't trying his best. On the fifth day he flapped his legs madly in a vain attempt at
flying. On the sixth day, he tied a small red cape around his neck and tried to think
"Superman" thoughts. It didn't help.
By the seventh day, Felix, accepting his fate, no longer begged for mercy. He simply
looked at Clarence and said, "You know you're killing me, don't you?" Clarence
pointed out that Felix's performance so far had been less than exemplary, failing to meet
any of the milestone goals he had set for him. With that, Felix said quietly, "Shut up and
open the window," and he leaped out, taking careful aim at the large jagged rock by the
corner of the building. And Felix went to that great lily pad in the sky.
Clarence was extremely upset, as his project had failed to meet a single objective that
he had set out to accomplish. Felix had not only failed to fly, he hadn't even learned to
steer his fall as he dropped like a sack of cement, nor had he heeded Clarence's advice
to "Fall smarter, not harder." The only thing left for Clarence to do was to analyze the
process and try to determine where it had gone wrong. After much thought, Clarence
smiled and said, "Next time, I'm getting a smarter frog!" |
