Modern Management Parable LO17327

John Dicus (jdicus@ourfuture.com)
Fri, 06 Mar 1998 10:59:34 -0500

Chau Nguyen's frog parable in LO17308 reminded me of an old systems joke.
(Please note: No frog disrespect is even remotely intended nor were any
actual frogs harmed in this virtual world story!)

A frog-jumping aficionado undertook to study the workings of the "frog
system" in an effort to develop a new line of champions.

He began by taking one of his longest jumping frogs and running a series
of tests.

He commanded his frog to jump. After the frog's mighty hop, the man
recorded the distance covered.

He then cut off one of the frogs' legs and again commanded the frog to
jump. The distance covered was approximately 3/4 of the original
distance. The man dutifully logged this result in his journal.

After cutting off the second leg, the frog was able to cover nearly half
the original distance once the command to jump was issued.

After cutting off the third of the frog's legs, the man noticed that the
distance covered was still fairly proportional to the number of legs.
However the directional stability of the frog was somewhat impaired.

Next, the man cut off the remaining leg and placed the frog on the hopping
lane. As before, he again commanded the frog to "jump."

As the frog sat there motionless, the man logged his conclusion in his
journal. "When all four legs of a frog are removed, the frog becomes
deaf!"

(Anyone ever seen an organization like this?)

John Dicus

-- 

John Dicus | Cornerstone Consulting Associates Providing Experiences In... Teamwork - Systems - Stewardship jdicus@ourfuture.com | http://www.ourfuture.com 800-773-8017 (in US) | 330-725-2728 (voice/fax) 2761 Stiegler Rd, Valley City OH 44280 (Experiences in Stewardship - April 26-29 & Oct 25-28, 1998)

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